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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25656445">Matter of Course</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg'>MeganRosenberg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, POV Reno (Compilation of FFVII), POV Rude, Reno (Compilation of FFVII)-centric, Reno and Rude - Freeform, Rude (Compilation of FFVII)-centric, Wall Market (Compilation of FFVII), comforting rude, teenage reno and rude, young reno and rude</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:34:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25656445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Teenage Reno and Rude are on their own in life with only each other to depend on. They spend their days lying, stealing and cheating to get by and getting into lots of dangerous situations along the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 1</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"You ever think about entering one of those Wall Market Colosseum fights?" Reno wondered, glancing over his shoulder at Rude, who stood leaning against the wall behind him, silently, and probably secretly nervously. The guy was always so calm and collected, but Reno could tell he disapproved of a lot of things the younger man got up to, including what he was up to right now.</p><p>Rude shook his head, keeping his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth set in a seemingly infinite frown. "Those fights are rigged." He spoke in a flat voice.</p><p>"But we could still win. I think I'm getting pretty good at fighting to be honest. I'm practically invincible. And you're impossibly strong - they wouldn't expect you to do so much damage without even using a weapon. And they wouldn't expect me to be so capable - no one ever does." Reno noted. "If they let us enter as a team, we'd beat 'em even if it was rigged. Hard to rig something against the best of the best. Am I right?"</p><p>Rude exhaled a tired breath and shook his head again. "Just finish up so we can go. We're not in Wall Market now. There are laws here."</p><p>Reno smirked, turning back toward the vending machine he'd been working on and prying harder with the crow-bar he had jammed between the door and the rest of it. "There's laws in Wall Market too... just more relaxed ones..." Reno countered.</p><p>"Then we should be breaking into things there instead." Rude grumbled, looking nervously to his left, then to his right. "Hurry it up."</p><p>Reno pulled his crow bar harder toward himself, then shoved it viciously back, slamming his shoulder against it, putting his full weight on it. This vending machine was built pretty well. The door wasn't really budging. He'd gotten about an inch open right from the start and made just about zero progress in the ten minutes since then. "You should be doing this, man. You're stronger." Reno complained.</p><p>"It was your idea." Rude frowned, clearly not wanting to get involved.</p><p>"But we'll both share the money and you know it." Reno reminded him, pulling the crow bar back and forth a few more times before frustratedly removing it from where he'd shoved it and hitting the front of the machine with it angrily.</p><p>"Come on, Reno. We'll just head back to Wall Market and pick some pockets." Rude suggested, putting his hand on the younger man's shoulder.</p><p>That was their go-to way of making money these days. It usually worked pretty well - finding people too drunk to notice and just stealing their money right out from under their noses. Wall Market was a dangerous, almost lawless place, so they tried not to go often, but it was typically a sure bet if they needed money fast.</p><p>"Hold on." Reno frowned, shrugging away from Rude's hand. "We can do both. It'd be nice to get enough to live semi-comfortably for a while. If we get a lot at once, we won't have to do this every damn day."</p><p>"We could always try to get jobs." Rude raised his eyebrows.</p><p>"What, and work harder for less? No thanks... So called 'jobs' are designed to keep poor people poor. So you're too exhausted to realize how much you're getting fucked over working your ass off every day for a bunch of damn scraps, barely able to afford to even live at the end of the day." Reno declined.</p><p>"Then you get a better job." Rude frowned.</p><p>Reno shook his head, reaching a hand out toward the vending machine and running his fingertips over the dent his crow bar made. "Nobody's gonna hire us to do anything worthwhile right now. We're practically kids... and not trustworthy-lookin' ones at that. I'll just keep stealing shit, thanks."</p><p>Rude shook his head again, but remained silent, as he often did.</p><p>Reno felt a smile itching on his lips as he narrowed his eyes, considering the dent he'd made in the front of the vending machine when he hit it. It was a pretty good dent for having been made on accident. He wondered how much damage he might be able to inflict upon the poor machine if he put some more effort into it, did in on purpse. He had originally swung down at the machine out of anger, but it looked like that might just be his way in.</p><p>He pulled his arm back and swung the crow bar down again and again... and again, viciously whacking at the machine. If he couldn't get it open by prying the door, he'd just have to bend the thing to hell until it fell apart.</p><p>"Reno!" Rude raised his voice very slightly.</p><p>"I got it." Reno exhaled, hitting the metal door again and again, making loud, clanging noises as he went. "Be patient."</p><p>"Reno, stop." Rude breathed. "You're making a lot of noise..."</p><p>"And a lotta money, hopefully." Reno noted. "Sick of eating shit outta the dumpster and being cold at night. If there's a good chunk of gil in here, maybe we can go to Wall Market and get something from one of the restaurants there. Buy us a god damned blanket. Then we can steal more money, get maybe up to like a thousand... We'd be set for a little while then."</p><p>Rude exhaled and shook his head silently.</p><p>"What, you wanna keep breaking off the moldy parts of bread people throw out? You wanna freeze all night every night and keep wearing clothing with holes in it?" Reno frowned, turning away from Rude and raising his crow bar up over his head again.</p><p>They'd gotten a lot more charity out of people when they were kids... cute kids, young kids... but it seemed after about fourteen or so, people didn't think Reno deserved their care anymore. Perhaps they didn't find him sneaking, stealing, and breaking into things as cute and forgivable as when he was younger. He supposed people found it easier to pity an adorable eight year old stealing their shit than a skinny, sneaky, angry sixteen year old doing the same. These days people wanted nothing to do with him. They looked at him like he was a problem rather than someone who deserved care and understanding.</p><p>Now it was just him and Rude against the world. Rude wasn't much older than him - a few years - but he was still the closest thing to a paternal or brotherly figure Reno had. No one looked out for him like Rude did. No one else in the world thought Reno was deserving of care and compassion. No one seemed to understand why he resorted to stealing anymore. No one cared that he was cold or hungry, didn't have parents, didn't have an actual house with a heater or clean water. Nobody was going to look out for either them, so they looked out for each other.</p><p>Letting out a soft gasp, Reno stumbled backward as Rude easily grabbed the crow bar out of his hands when he raised it up over his head again. "Rude! Give it back! I almost had it!" Reno whined as he turned toward his partner and reached for the crow bar. He'd put so much effort into getting this machine open. It would be flat out stupid to just leave it now, after he damaged it, after he made all the noise and potentially drew unwanted attention. Why not just finish off the task at this point?</p><p>Rude shook his head and placed the end of the tool back under the door, easily prying it open, then stepping back and letting Reno survey its contents.</p><p>Reno shot Rude a quick smile. "Thanks! I told you it'd be easy for you to just do it." He turned back toward the machine, finding the compartment where the money was collected and reaching inside, quickly counting the gil as he went.</p><p>"Two hundred seventy!" He grinned, stuffing it into his pocket as he turned back toward Rude. "Oh shit..." He felt his stomach flip when he saw a few uniformed men headed toward them. "Rude, let's go!" He grabbed the older man's arm and started running down the alley.</p><p>"Hey!" One of the men shouted. "What are you boys doing!?"</p><p>Reno tightened his grip on Rude's arm and ran faster, trying to force the other man to keep up. His legs were longer than Reno's. He should have been faster - but he wasn't. Running away from people was actually easier for Reno when he was alone. Rude was slower, but more effective punching whoever caught him and getting away with it anyway. Reno's best defense was to be fast - but he couldn't be if he wanted to stick with Rude. The guy just wasn't keeping up.</p><p>"Come on, man..." Reno breathed, tugging harder on Rude's arm, trying to will his friend to just go fucking faster, even knowing that Rude simply wasn't capable. "We gotta go, Rude! Pick up the pace, damn it!"</p><p>"Get back here!" One of the officers yelled after them as they ran.</p><p>"Let's go into the collapsed expressway." Reno suggested, nodding in the direction of the path he'd suggested. They were close to it, and most people were scared to go inside - including officers. It was a good shortcut toward Wall Market too. "They won't follow us in there. And it leads right to where we're going anyway."</p><p>"Yeah, and we probably won't ever make it out alive." Rude breathed, but continued following Reno anyway.</p><p>"We've gone through it before. We can handle it. We'll be careful." Reno promised, glancing over his shoulder and slowing down when he noticed Rude falling behind again. He took a few steps back, grabbing Rude's arm once again. "Rude... Come on... Run faster!"</p><p>"Surrender, and we won't hurt you!" One of the officers growled as they both continued chasing after Reno and Rude. The one guy was gaining on them, if only because Rude wasn't going nearly as fast as Reno.</p><p>"Get a move on! Rude, come on..." Reno breathed, grabbing Rude's arm with one hand and gripping his crow bar tightly in the other. "I don't wanna fight these guys... They probably have guns..."</p><p>"Drop the weapon and put your hands up!" The second officer shouted. "Or we'll shoot!"</p><p>Reno exhaled nervously, glancing toward Rude. "They're gonna shoot us over two hundred seventy gil?" He grimaced. "They won't really... right?" It was always hard to say how things like this would go. Some of the uniformed guards patrolling the towns would look the other way when Reno stole things. Some seemed ready to kill him over it.</p><p>Rude flinched and let out a small growl of his own as the sound of a gun shot echoed around them. He continued running alongside Reno, but put his arm across the younger man's back, as though in an attempt to shield him from the gunfire... It'd just hit them both in that case though... Rude's arm wasn't going to stop a damn bullet.</p><p>Reno winced and shrunk down as well, grabbing Rude's sleeve in a tight fist as he considered his options: They could keep running, maybe get away, maybe get shot... They could turn around and fight, again, maybe get shot... or they could surrender, give the money back, and face whatever consequence these men felt they deserved.</p><p>Surrendering didn't guarantee that they wouldn't be killed... and certainly didn't promise they wouldn't be hurt. Surrendering was, in fact, probably the easiest way to make sure they got hurt. Reno had seen it happen - with others as well as himself.</p><p>He wasn't always how he was now. He wasn't always quick to lash out, distrustful of anyone other than Rude. When he was a lot younger, maybe eleven or twelve, and he was asked by one of these uniformed men not to run after stealing something from a shop, he got scared enough to stop and give himself up, thinking they'd take back the items he'd taken, tell him not to do it again, maybe make him apologize.</p><p>That wasn't what had happened. Reno had stopped, raised his hands up in surrender, even said he was sorry without being asked to... The officer was so clearly angry, out of breath from trying to keep up with Reno for the few minutes that he had run. Reno could have easily escaped if he had just kept running... But he got scared, stopped, did the "right" thing... The officer hit him across the face, wrestled his arms behind him, cuffed him, took back the jewelry he had stolen.</p><p>A second uniformed guard had made the first let him go eventually, when they discovered he didn't have parents, a family, a house. There was nowhere to take him to and he was so young jail didn't seem appropriate. But it took a while, and for about forty-five very scary minutes, Reno's arms were bound behind him, with the angry officer holding so tightly onto his wrist and shoulder that he had bruises there after. The guy even hit him again when Reno started arguing and squirming too much.</p><p>That was enough for Reno to learn his lesson - never surrender to the uniformed officers who patrol the towns. Even when they claim they won't hurt you... That was a hollow promise. They were always mad when they caught up, and always took things further than they should for a simple case of stolen money or goods.</p><p>Reno let out a shaky breath and tugged harder on Rude's sleeve when another shot whizzed past them. He was confident he could outrun these people, wasn't sure if Rude could... and was definitely certain neither of them could outrun a well-aimed bullet.</p><p>"That's enough." Rude grumbled, immediately skidding to a halt, balling his hands into fists and starting to turn around. He quickly charged at one of their pursuers, punching out with a strong, well-aimed fist, right at the guy's jaw.</p><p>Reno felt his eyes widen, as he gripped his crow bar in both hands, quickly dashing toward the uniformed man Rude hadn't gone toward, immediately swinging out at the guy's hands first, to disarm him.</p><p>He managed to easily knock the gun out of the man's hands, then hit him in quick succession against his back, then the front of his thighs, and finally across the side of the head. He couldn't leave this person any window of opportunity to reclaim his weapon.</p><p>Reno breathed in and out, quick, nervous breaths as he stared at the officer on the ground in front of him. The man was seemingly knocked out. Hopefully not dead... though Reno couldn't say he'd necessarily feel bad if he were. The fucker had just shot at them. If Reno and Rude had surrendered as they were asked, these people might have just quickly shot them and left them here... Perhaps this was a kill-or-be-killed moment.</p><p>Turning toward Rude in time to see the older man quickly and strongly chop his hand against the back of the other man's neck, Reno exhaled tiredly and closed his eyes for a moment. Stealing from the vending machine wasn't meant to include a physical fight when armed men. This has progressed well past the point Reno had intended. It was supposed to be quick and easy money.</p><p>His shoulders slumped as he blinked his eyes back open and stared at Rude. "You okay?" He wondered.</p><p>"Yep. Let's go." Rude grumbled, putting his hand on Reno's back and leading him away. "Quickly, in case they get back up." He suggested.</p><p>Reno nodded, glancing over his shoulder as he let Rude lead him toward the collapsed expressway. The two officers were completely still. He wondered if they were dead... He wondered if he should feel guilty if they were. Reno didn't just kill people as a way to clean up the messes he got himself into... He'd had to defend himself plenty of times, but he was pretty sure he hadn't ever killed anyone.</p><p>"Do you think they're dead?" Reno breathed, suddenly feeling legitimately upset at the thought of it. Even though they had been shooting at them, likely trying to kill them, Reno didn't want another human being's death on his conscience. It was strange, but he felt kind of guilty... Even though the men didn't really leave them much of a choice here, he didn't want to be responsible for killing someone. These officers had families. Lives... Maybe they had kids. Kids like Reno, who wouldn't have a parent now. Maybe they were single parents with kids who would now grow up on their own, just like Reno and Rude had to.</p><p>Rude shook his head. "I just knocked mine out..."</p><p>Reno swallowed, thinking back to how he took his guy down. Did he do anything that could have actually killed him?</p><p>"I don't think you killed him, Reno." Rude assured him without Reno having to speak his fears out loud. "I was keeping an eye on you through it... You just hit his head the one time... You did what you had to, to defend yourself. Nothing more. You knocked him out. That's all."</p><p>Reno nodded. "Okay... Not that I'd care..." He lied with a laugh.</p><p>Rude let out a small laugh of his own and shook his head, likely able to see through that lie. He could see that Reno did in fact care, whether he wanted to care or not.</p><p>"Let's go, Reno." Rude spoke again, his voice serious. "Pick up the pace so we don't have to fight them again."</p><p>"Okay..." Reno nodded, walking faster. Rude was so slow compared to him while they were running... Now that they were walking and didn't have to be fast, the guy was really making good time.</p><p>Rude continued briskly leading the way, his longer legs ensuring he stayed ahead of the younger man unless Reno decided to legitimately run to pass him. Reno was a fast runner. Rude, apparently, was a fast walker.</p><p>He was leading them toward the collapsed expressway that connected Sectors 5 and 7. It came out at the park outside of Sector 7. Then they'd just need to follow the path the rest of the way to Sector 6. But the expressway was dangerous. Monsters and thieves called it home. Reno and Rude had been there before. They'd even sort of lived there for a week or so before deciding fighting for their lives nearly all day every day was too much. It was a great place to keep away from authorities, but everyone else knew that too. It attracted trouble.</p><p>Rude in particular didn't seem to like spending time there. He was a good fighter - he was really strong, really effective... but he didn't seem to like fighting as much as Reno did. Reno actually rather enjoyed showing off - demonstrating to anyone and everyone around him just how good he was, how fast he was... Rude was really effective too - stronger than he was fast, but like really strong... Strong enough to pick people up and legitimately throw them. Even so, he wasn't a show-off. He fought when he had to, not because he wanted to.</p><p>"Thought you didn't like taking this route." Reno changed the subject as he practically jogged along next to Rude, who was taking quick, brisk steps, seemingly in quite a hurry to get to the tunnel he claimed to despise. "And you're awfully fast all of a sudden. Where was this when those pricks were chasing us?" Reno laughed.</p><p>Rude frowned and shook his head. He seemed frustrated. Hopefully not with Reno.</p><p>"Sorry we got caught, Rude..." Reno frowned up at his friend. Maybe Rude was mad that Reno continued trying to break into the vending machine when Rude advised against it. It was Reno's fault the officers spotted them. It was Reno's fault they almost got shot.</p><p>Rude still didn't say anything back. He just continued walking.</p><p>"I... didn't know anyone was around..." Reno breathed, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest at the thought of Rude being angry with him. Reno didn't claim to give a damn what anyone thought, ever. He did what he wanted and if people didn't like him, they could go to hell... But he really didn't want Rude angry with him - especially when he could understand why the older man would be angry, and could legitimately claim he was right to be. Reno fucked up today... nearly cost them both their lives.</p><p>Reno exhaled as he continued quickly walking next to Rude. "There was nobody nearby when we started... It's late and it seemed secluded... I didn't think anybody was gonna notice..."</p><p>"Probably all the noise." Rude noted with a small shrug.</p><p>Reno inhaled a small breath. That was his fault. Extremely his fault. Rude warned him against making so much noise... Reno continued making noise anyway, and then the officers noticed, started shooting... They could have been killed.</p><p>"Reno... It's okay." Rude spoke after a pause, looking down at the younger man. "I'm not mad... Not at you."</p><p>"I know." Reno shook his head and forced a laugh. "Wasn't my fault those assholes started tryin' to shoot us."</p><p>"You've just got to be a little more careful... You're so impulsive." Rude explained.</p><p>Reno nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. He was impulsive... He was usually pretty good at thinking fast, figuring out how to get things done the easiest way possible, even if it was loud or messy...</p><p>It wasn't the best way to go about every task, but it did work for him a majority of the time. Even just defending himself from the officer a moment ago - he swung out fast and hard with his weapon, hit the guy where it mattered, and took him down faster than Rude took down the other one. And Rude had a head start...</p><p>"Just try to be careful. Think about what you're doing before you do it. Sometimes taking things slow works out better - even if it costs you more time in the end." Rude suggested.</p><p>"Okay." Reno agreed. He wasn't going to pretend like he wasn't flawed... He was pretty capable. He was a great fighter, fast and sly, good at stealing, evading authorities... but he wasn't perfect. And if anyone out there could give him a critique he'd actually listen to, it would be Rude.</p><p>"There could be monsters in this tunnel. Make sure you're paying attention." Rude warned.</p><p>"Make sure you're paying attention, man." Reno smirked, hitting his crow bar against his hand. "I don't gotta be quiet in here. I'm goin' all out."</p><p>Rude smiled and shook his head silently.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 2</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"I don't remember this…" Reno frowned, placing his hands on his hips and leaning slightly back as he stared at the fork in the path with a pout and scowl. They'd been walking through the tunnels for about a half an hour and weren't even close to finished. This branch in the path was unfamiliar. He thought last time they walked through it was pretty much a straight shot from one end to the other. Took forever, but was one single path without a bunch of nonsense at least.</p><p>"Was this here last time?" Reno rephrased, glancing over toward Rude with raised eyebrows. "Pretty sure we didn't have to decide which way to go last time we were here. We just followed the one damn path that was here, fought shit, and finally made it through after a damn life time."</p><p>Rude shrugged, looking somewhat uneasy as he glanced from one side to the other. "I doubt it just magically appeared one day... It's a long tunnel. We probably just don't remember seeing it. Or maybe one way was blocked last time. People do move stuff around in here. Or there could have been further collapse." He looked up as if trying to judge that theory.</p><p>Reno exhaled, crossing his arms over his chest. It didn't matter much where the second route came from. It mattered that one route was the one they took last time that led out. And they didn't know which it was - or if the other one led the same place, the wrong place, or nowhere at all. "Well, which way do we go?" Reno pouted.</p><p>Silently, Rude looked from one path to the next, either trying to remember the route they'd taken last time, or quietly judging which way seemed safer or more likely to be the right way. But Reno realized it didn't matter how long Rude stared at it. The answer wasn't just going to reveal itself.</p><p>"I'll go left, you go right. Meet back here in ten minutes and report our findings." Reno suggested, quickly getting impatient.</p><p>"Looks like the left goes up. Right goes down." Rude noted. "It's possible one of them goes nowhere."</p><p>"Well, we'll just find out." Reno started off toward the left. "Don't go too far if it seems to keep going. If I reach a dead end, I'll come back… If it keeps going I'll come back too, to let you know. Then we can decide which route to take together. Just like... About ten minutes either way, okay? Then meet back here."</p><p>Rude frowned and exhaled. He seemed unsure of Reno's suggestion.</p><p>"It's a good plan." Reno glared. "There's nothing too huge monster-wise around here... We can each take care of ourselves for ten minutes. Like you said, one way's probably a dead end. We'll have to end up going down both anyway, probably. If we check both at the same time, we'll find out sooner and get outta this place sooner. I'd rather check both before choosing one so we don't have to wonder what was down the other way."</p><p>"Alright." Rude reluctantly agreed. "Be careful. Call out if you run into trouble."</p><p>"I ain't gonna run into trouble." Reno rolled his eyes. "Besides, I can handle anything."</p><p>Rude stared with a raised eyebrow, shaking his head slightly. "Call out if you need help." He ordered again.</p><p>"Whatever... See ya in like ten minutes." Reno nodded, heading up the left path.</p><p>As Rude had surmised, this path did rise at an upward angle. Reno walked at a somewhat brisk pace, eager to find out if it was a dead end so he could double back and let Rude know. He really wanted out of this tunnel as soon as possible and remembered from the last time they took this route that it took a little while. These branching paths were making an already long detour even longer, and it was annoying the hell out of him.</p><p>He kept his pace quick, holding his crow bar in his hand, ready to use it if need be. This place was crawling with monsters - some of which were weird shit he swore he'd never seen before. The further they got into the expressway, the more Reno was doubting the choice to take this path toward Wall Market instead of staying out in the open. Rude was right about it being dangerous.</p><p>"Mother fuck!" Reno gasped as a huge bug-looking thing scurried past him. He inhaled a sharp breath, pressing his back against the wall as he watched it run up the path. Hopefully he wasn't headed toward a whole den of those nasty things. At least it hadn't attacked him from behind. It could have. Reno hadn't been paying attention enough to have avoided it. Fortunately, it didn't seem interested in attacking.</p><p>With a frown, Reno looked back the way he'd come, hoping more creepy bug-monsters weren't going to follow that one. He didn't see anything so far. Hopefully Rude was doing okay on the other route.</p><p>Letting out a low grumble, Reno glared ahead and kept moving, holding his crow bar in a tight fist. The bug-like things weren't that big. If he had to fight one off, he could, easy… but he wasn't sure how dangerous they might be, if they had sharp stingers, poison fangs… Even a small monster could be deadly if it had some concealed dangerous attribute like that.</p><p>The path went on, still slanting upwards for a few more minutes. Nothing alarming stood out for a while. Perhaps it was just the one bug-thing… and maybe it wasn't even dangerous. Maybe it was just a creepy thing that lived in here, but just wanted to live its life.</p><p>Reno frowned when he reached the end of the path. It hadn't just lead to a closed off den or wall. It was very open. In fact, when he neared the edge, he found it was pretty much just a hole overlooking the lower tunnel.</p><p>With a small breath, Reno flinched and shrunk down slightly when he heard people talking down below. It sounded like Rude as well as someone else.</p><p>He lowered himself to the ground and inched slowly forward, peering over and listening in, trying to judge if whoever this stranger was was going to be a problem. Sometimes the people they met in places like this were perfectly harmless… but more often than not, they weren't. It was a tough world they lived in. Reno and Rude weren't the only ones out here willing to steal, willing to fight people for things they needed.</p><p>Looking down at the scene, Reno saw Rude standing calm and quiet, seemingly just listening to the other person talk for now. The other guy was pretty big, tall, muscular, maybe in this mid twenties. He looked a little rough, like he hadn't managed to bathe in a while. His clothing was old and tattered, dirty, worn out, full of holes. He had a short beard growing on his chin and what looked like dirt or oil smudged on one cheek. The poor guy was a mess.</p><p>Reno swallowed nervously when he saw the man was holding a knife, though he didn't have it out in front of himself as though threatening to use it. It was in his hand, with his arm down at his side. The mere fact that he had it wasn't a definite problem - Reno had been holding onto his crow bar in here, ready to use it if need be… but if he and Rude ran across random people just making their way through, Reno wouldn't have considered himself to be a threat to them. Just having a weapon out and ready in a place like this was perfectly reasonable.</p><p>"Well, who exactly are ya? Why are you walkin' around in the tunnels all by yourself?" The stranger asked, staring Rude up and down. "I don't see a lot of people just randomly walkin' around in here... What are ya doing?"</p><p>Rude shook his head, staying quiet for a few long seconds before answering a simple response. "Just passing through."</p><p>"Passing through to where? This place don't lead anywhere good…" The man went on. "I'm not sure I buy it… You trying to set up camp around here or something? Looking for shit to steal? It may just look like a heap of garbage to people like you, but some people live here, you know."</p><p>Rude shook his head again. "I get it, man. I'm not trying to step in on your turf… I'll even head back the other way if it's an issue. There was a path leading up-"</p><p>"It don't go nowhere." The man took a step toward Rude. "This is the way out... Though it don't lead out for a while. Gonna take you a couple hours at least. Assuming nothin' jumps out and attacks. Yep. This is the only way through."</p><p>Rude tensed, balling his hands into fists. "Then I'm going to have to go through this way. Are we going to have a problem?"</p><p>"Well… It's just… I kinda laid claim to this section of the tunnel, you see… and I don't let people pass through without some sorta payment… This is my space, and it's inconvenient for me to have people like you just walkin' through all hours of the day and night." The guy spoke. "You got any money?"</p><p>Reno exhaled and closed his eyes. Why did there always have to be idiots like this making things harder than they had to be? Now Reno and Rude were going to have to beat the shit out of this guy in order to get through.</p><p>"I don't have money." Rude answered simply, in his short, low, subtly irritated voice. Reno could tell he was getting pissed off at this guy. The man probably couldn't tell though. That was the scary thing about Rude - if you didn't know him, you couldn't always tell when he was about to snap and beat the shit out of you. He had a frankly somewhat amazing ability to seem completely calm on the outside even when he was pissed inside.</p><p>"Mind if I check your pockets?" The stranger smirked, holding his knife up in a way he probably intended to be seen as threatening.</p><p>Reno leaned over the ledge a little bit more, looking up and down, trying to judge how far up he was. He'd guess maybe no more than twelve feet. He could probably jump down there without getting hurt. It would be a hell of a lot faster than turning back, going all the way down this tunnel and then back through the one Rude had taken.</p><p>"You're not checking my pockets." Rude glared.</p><p>"Yes I am." The man disagreed, taking a step forward.</p><p>Rude promptly drew his fist back and punched the guy, very hard in the ribs. He fell back rather hard against the ground, but was able to jump back up pretty quick, holding his knife in a tight fist and glaring at Rude.</p><p>"You little prick…" The guy growled raising his knife up and stalking slowly toward Rude. Reno hoped he wasn't more capable than he looked. He knew Rude could fight back now. That was often when an enemy started to get dangerous - after the first punch was thrown and they knew what to expect. That's why Reno often preferred to let his enemy take the first swing - so he'd know what he was dealing with. It didn't seem like an advantage to let the other guy go first, but sometimes it was if it was timed right, dodged, carefully managed. Rude actually taught him that.</p><p>The man swung the knife out again, narrowly missing Rude's ribs as Rude dodged back and punched out at the guy's face. But the stranger didn't stagger back this time, instead raising his free arm up to knock Rude's fist away and swinging again, very nearly cutting Rude across his chest.</p><p>Reno felt his brows furrow as his breath caught in his throat. This guy was actually an okay fighter. Rude might need his help.</p><p>Licking his lips nervously, Reno climbed back up to his feet, holding his crow bar tight in his hand as he tried to quickly judge where to aim his jump.</p><p>"You're not gettin' through!" The man yelled, swinging the knife again as Rude inhaled a sharp breath and dodged back.</p><p>Rude punched out at the guy again, hitting his jaw as the man slammed Rude hard back against the wall of the tunnel, raising his knife up. In the same instant, Reno jumped down, knocking his crow bar against the man's head just about as hard as he could without aiming to actually split his skull in two.</p><p>The stranger immediately fell down to the ground with a pained grunt. Reno kicked him over so he could see his face, nudging his ribs with his foot to make sure he was truly knocked out, then looking back up with a small breath.</p><p>"You okay, partner?" Reno looked up into Rude's eyes.</p><p>"Yes. I had that under control." Rude frowned, straightening his shirt calmly and standing up tall.</p><p>"I know. Just thought I'd rather be safe than sorry. How did you like that impulsiveness? I just fuckin' went for it. Slammed him right against the head." Reno grinned, wanting to give his methods credit here even though he had actually slowly and carefully calculated his moves from afar like Rude would have. Rude didn't need to know that. Reno's fighting style was good a lot of the time, and with Rude having no idea how long Reno watched silently from up above, Reno could let the older man believe it was Reno's style that saved him. "Sometimes acting on impulse works, right?" Reno went on.</p><p>Rude silently shook his head. Maybe he had noticed Reno up there. Maybe he knew his younger friend was bullshitting him.</p><p>"Guess we can check his pockets. Doubt he has anything good." Reno suggested tucking his crow bar into one of the belt loops on his pants and grabbing the knife out of the unconscious man's hand. "Here ya go, Rude. Now you got a weapon." He offered.</p><p>"I don't need it." Rude frowned, running his hands casually over his jacket to knock off some dust that had made its way onto him.</p><p>"Of course you don't." Reno laughed, tossing the weapon down the tunnel. He really didn't need it either. He preferred something longer he didn't have to get so close to use. The crow bar was actually working out pretty great for him. It was light enough that he could still move quickly with it, but it fucking hurt to get hit with it. He had actually been using an old pipe for a while, a great, sturdy one he found in a dumpster... But during a particularly nasty fight, his enemy had managed to take it from him and Reno ended up having to flee without it. The crow bar was a fairly new addition to his very small arsenal.</p><p>"I take it your route didn't work out?" Rude asked after a moment.</p><p>Reno stood back up after checking the stranger's pockets and finding nothing useful. "It's that big hole in the wall up there." He nodded toward where his tunnel had ended. "Doesn't lead anywhere but here, so I wouldn't say it didn't work out. I got to see your fun little conversation with Nutcase here." He nodded down to the ground.</p><p>"This is the route then." Rude nodded toward the continuing tunnel. "Hopefully there's no more forks in the path. And no more people like this." He nodded toward the guy on who had attacked him.</p><p>Reno shrugged. "I think we might be able to manage anyway, but I agree."</p><p>"Let's go." Rude exhaled. "I'm so ready to be done here. This has been a long damn day…"</p><p>"Well… It's not over yet. I'd say we're not even halfway through this place." Reno guessed.</p><p>Rude put his hand on Reno's shoulder and pushed him along, likely eager to distance them from the guy who'd just tried to slice and dice him.</p><p>"So what am I gonna have to do to convince you to try a Colosseum match?" Reno asked as they walked briskly along. It was a good idea, a potentially very lucrative one. He couldn't understand why Rude was so opposed to it. "We can do the easiest one they have to start. You know we'll do great. There's money prizes. We fight stuff all the time anyway. It would be the same stuff as always, but with gil at the end."</p><p>Rude shook his head. "I told you already."</p><p>"Yeah, yeah… They're rigged. So what? It's rigged when some creep tries to knife you in a tunnel and you don't have a weapon. When cops chase you down shooting at you from behind. If you're good enough, it won't matter. We just fought and won against two guys with guns, one guy with a knife, several weird monsters… We can do anything." Reno reminded him. "Has there ever been a fight we haven't won?"</p><p>"Yes." Rude glared. "All the ones we fled from. That guy that hit you so hard you were knocked out for like ten minutes? I thought you were dead... Just because we didn't die doesn't mean we won."</p><p>"We fled from ones when we just didn't feel like fighting." Reno lied. He knew as well as Rude did that there had been a few instances of them getting in over their heads, feeling too confident, picking fights with the wrong people and ending up having to run for their lives. That didn't happen often though. They truly did have an outstanding success rate when it came to winning fights. "And that guy that knocked me out... that was four years ago. I was a kid... I'm more careful now. Stronger now too. When's the last time somebody got in a good hit against me?"</p><p>Rude shook his head, either unable to think of an example, or just not wanting to discuss it further.</p><p>"I'm a much better fighter now. You can't take shit that happened when I was twelve as evidence I'm not capable of winning a fight." Reno frowned. Rude was referring to an incident where an older kid who was a huge bully beat Reno up after Reno was trash-talking him. It was a long time ago, Reno hadn't expected the guy to hit that hard... He wouldn't let something like that happen again.</p><p>"We're not entering a Colosseum fight. It's a death trap." Rude persisted, putting his hand back on Reno's shoulder when it seemed the younger man had slowed his pace too much for Rude's liking.</p><p>"God damn, man. We don't gotta run." Reno laughed, but picked up his pace anyway. He did want to get through his place quickly. "You're slow as hell every time I'm the one trying to make good time."</p><p>"Thanks for your help back there." Rude mumbled out of nowhere.</p><p>Reno smiled and leaned forward slightly to see his friend's face better. Rude was frowning, staring ahead like he was kinda mad. Maybe he hadn't wanted Reno to step in and take care of the guy. Maybe he wanted to handle it on his own.</p><p>"Sorry if you wanted to take care of it yourself…" Reno frowned too. "I didn't mean to-"</p><p>"No. He kinda got the upper hand for a minute. He was stronger than I thought he was. You were a lot of help." Rude insisted. "I'm not kidding. It probably would have been fine. I could have probably turned it around… But maybe not. It's good that you were there. That you stepped in when you did."</p><p>Reno felt a smile spread back across his face. It often seemed Rude was the one stepping in to save Reno's ass. Not the other way around… Naturally, it felt good to know Rude saw him as valuable, capable… Not that Reno really doubted his capabilities. He was actually quite confident in himself. But if someone was likely to screw up and need saving between the two of them… it often happened to be Reno. Like Rude said before, he was impulsive - more likely to pick a fight he shouldn't have rather than just walk away.</p><p>"Well… You're welcome, man. Any time." Reno nudged Rude with his elbow. "That's why we're partners, right? Why the world somehow brought us together…"</p><p>Rude nodded.</p><p>Reno smiled as he went on. "We're like the perfect team. That's why we'd do great in-"</p><p>"Don't." Rude interrupted.</p><p>"What?" Reno frowned.</p><p>"Don't say we'd do great in a Colosseum match. I'm not entering a rigged death-trap competition. There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance… Doesn't matter how good a fighter you are if the fight's designed in a way that it's impossible to win."</p><p>Reno exhaled and shook his head. "Fine. I'll shut up about it." He gave in. For now at least. He was going to keep working on Rude… Rigged didn't mean impossible. It just meant challenging… and who was better to take on a challenge than the two of them?</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 3</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Rude blinked his eyes open, glaring across the street at a tent and a vendor set up under it. It looked like the woman was selling some kind of perfume... or potions... maybe even drugs. Whatever it was came in quite a few different colors, in tiny glass bottles.</p><p>He turned his head to the side, looking down at Reno, who was leaning against his shoulder, breathing calm, even breaths. They had spent the entire night making their way through the collapsed tunnel. There ended up being a lot more monsters than they had guessed there would be. As a result, they didn't feel safe enough to sleep, even if they took turns keeping watch... so they agreed to keep going until they got to Wall Market.</p><p>It took a while thanks to parts of the path being caved in. There was some climbing and clever maneuvering involved, and quite a bit of rather exhausting fighting with the hostile creatures inside. But they made it through in one piece eventually.</p><p>They arrived in Wall Market pretty early, just as the sun was rising. Fortunately, a few of the restaurants were open for breakfast, so they found a somewhat cheap one, ate quite a bit to make up for not having eaten at all the day before, and then found this bench...</p><p>Rude wasn't even sure how long they'd been sitting here. Reno had laid down against his arm, started going on and on about the Colosseum fights and how he thought they could potentially win if they entered - even with the fights being designed to be unfair... and quickly fell asleep while talking. The always wound-up young man was clearly exhausted.</p><p>Even though he was somewhat nervous to sleep out here in the open, Rude managed to do so for a while too, but had woken up a few times, likely purely out of feeling uneasy about leaving himself and Reno vulnerable to anyone who might take advantage of them both being passed out. Each of the times he woke up, Reno was still where he had been, laying against Rude's shoulder. They were both still safe. No one had tried anything.</p><p>Strangely enough, it felt pretty safe here. It was Wall Market, so of course it wasn't the safest place. People here barely followed laws, but it seemed during the day at least, perhaps everyone was content to mind their own business. Maybe as long as Rude didn't let Reno convince him to do anything stupid, like entering rigged Colosseum matches or otherwise gambling with their lives, they'd be okay.</p><p>But they did need to find some money. That was why they were here. The bit they had stolen from the vending machine would get them through three or four days if they were careful, a couple weeks if they were very careful - uncomfortably so... but it would be nice to have a small fortune so they could afford to buy food without being careful, so they could buy shoes without holes in them, jackets, a blanket...</p><p>Right now, they were spending their nights in an old shack in Sector 5 - a building long abandoned and forgotten by the rest of the town, in a cluster of similar buildings. Pretty much no one wandered that far from the populated part of town, so it was fairly safe for them to set up camp there. It didn't have heat, running water, or much of anything other than a roof and walls, but they were left alone, and it gave them a place to be out of the rain and wind, away from potential threats. Reno and Rude slept on an old mattress on the floor at night, with Reno using Rude's old jacket as a blanket and Rude promising he wasn't cold too - even though he was.</p><p>If they stayed out late enough, they'd often find some passable food in the dumpster behind the restaurant in Sector 5. They threw away things that were getting old, but still weren't old enough to make someone sick if they ate them anyway. Bread and cheese with moldy parts that could be torn off, fruits and vegetables that were a little withered or soft, but still edible... Just generally stuff that no one would really want, but that would keep someone alive at least.</p><p>Rude was sick of living like this, and he knew Reno was too - even if the younger man was a little more upbeat on any given day. It seemed to give him a rush to have to run from people, fight people... Sometimes Rude wondered if he was making commotion on purpose, trying to start shit just so he'd have to 'defend himself' and kick somebody's ass. Reno was pretty good at fighting and he knew it. He seemed to very much enjoy tricking someone into confronting him so he could show off his fighting.</p><p>Rude frowned, glancing down at his friend again, still leaning against his arm, softly breathing, curled up on the bench next to him. Reno was always so wound up. To anyone on the outside, he seemed aggressive, angry even. He was so quick to lash out... but Rude knew him better. Reno hadn't had an easy life so far. His aggressive nature stemmed from uncertainty, fear, lack of control of other aspects of his life.</p><p>Reno didn't know if he was going to go to sleep hungry, if he was going to get arrested by officers for stealing or sleeping in a building they didn't pay to sleep in. He didn't know if someone he'd cheated in the past would recognize him and pick a fight... But he did know he was a good fighter. He knew that was something he could do well, so he did it as often as he could - within reason... Usually he knew better than to fight people with guns.</p><p>He did know when to run, like yesterday with the vending machine. Reno saw that the people coming after them had guns, probably assumed they might legitimately use them... and took off. He knew better than to pick a fight that time, because losing might mean death. The boy wasn't entirely reckless, just a little more aggressive and quick to anger than Rude was.</p><p>Rude looked up and across the street at the potion vendor again, staring with furrowed brows at the rows of brightly colored liquids in individual bottles. He couldn't believe those officers actually shot at them. They stole money from a vending machine. They didn't hurt anyone. What they did wasn't exactly moral, but they didn't deserve to be shot for it. It was way worse than the man with the knife in the tunnel. At least that guy was probably mentally disturbed, living homeless in a tunnel... The officers should have known better than to shoot at young people simply for the fact that they had stolen less than three hundred gil - Reno was only sixteen!</p><p>With a tired exhale, Rude glanced back down at Reno. The younger man looked so peaceful and innocent when he was asleep. Anyone who didn't know him would never guess how cunning and quick he was if they just saw him here, innocently asleep against Rude's shoulder. He looked like any other teenaged child out in the world, skinny, innocent, harmless... And he was those things to most people. He was innocent, harmless to most. He didn't hurt people if he didn't have to. He fought with people he felt threatened by. He'd never just attack someone who hadn't somehow started it. He was a good person. A sort of aggressive person, but a kind soul deep down.</p><p>Rude breathed out again and carefully moved his arm so that he could rest it around Reno's shoulders. The younger man was like a brother to him. He'd do anything to keep Reno safe, and he knew the feeling was mutual. Neither of them had parents anymore - no family whatsoever... so they somehow found each other, became a sort of tiny family of their own.</p><p>They understood each other, knew how to function together pretty well. Half the time Rude didn't even have to speak and Reno still knew what he was thinking. They practically functioned as though they were of one mind - even though they were so very different. Life hadn't exactly been kind to either of them, but they did at least have each other, and all things considered, they were doing pretty well.</p><p>Rude didn't even want to imagine what his life would be without Reno. He wasn't sure he could stand to live like this every day if it was only himself he was keeping alive. Why bother eating things out of the dumpster, struggling to survive just so he could sit around all alone for another day? The younger man was a big motivation for him to take care of himself, to keep trying to survive. Knowing he was looking after both himself and his friend was a strong reason for him to aim to do a good job at it. Hearing Reno say something ridiculous, or laugh... seeing him smile when they'd won a fight or stolen something good... it made everything worth it.</p><p>He looked down at the younger man again. Reno's hair, as usual, was hanging over his eyes. His breaths were still calm and even. It was nice to see the boy so calm, quiet, and content. Reno was so on-edge a lot of the time, but right now he looked entirely peaceful. Rude figured he'd probably have to dissuade Reno from entering a Colosseum match, and then they could split up and pick some pockets. They were good at that. It was a sure bet. And if they managed to get a few hundred each, they could afford to live semi-comfortably without having to worry for a couple weeks.</p><p>Letting out a small breath and a sort of groan, Reno sat up, blinking his eyes tiredly. He stared ahead for a moment with a pouty frown, seemingly focusing on the same brightly colored bottles Rude had been staring at off and on for the past few hours.</p><p>"Uggh... God damn... What fuckin' time is it?" Reno finally grumbled with a small yawn.</p><p>Rude felt his lips twitching toward a smile. It figured the first thing out of Reno's mouth after several hours of silence from the younger man would be something that included needless swearing.</p><p>"Have I been sleeping on this bench like the whole damn day?" He looked up at the sky, seemingly judging the position of the sun to answer his own question. "We gotta get this done so we can get back home before dark." He suggested, starting to stand.</p><p>"Reno, wait." Rude grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Let's come up with a plan first. We just gonna split up and pick pockets?" He spoke with a low tone.</p><p>Reno shook his head. "Why don't we enter a Colosseum fight? The pay is good if you don't do just one, like the lowest... but we could start there and work our way up. We don't gotta go all the way and try to do the big ones. Just some of the medium level ones. I know it's rigged and it'd be dangerous to jump right in and attempt the Corneo Cup or something, but we can do some lesser ones. They're not gonna bother heavily rigging fights against drakes and guard dogs and random bandits. You know we could win."</p><p>"If it were fair we could win." Rude disagreed. "You know if they decide they think you getting your ass beaten is more entertaining than watching you win, they're gonna rig it against you."</p><p>"I'm really entertaining when I win." Reno smirked. "They'd love me."</p><p>Rude scoffed and shook his head. "Maybe. Maybe not. It's run by that guy Corneo, and I heard he's pretty immoral. He might think it's funny to watch us get our asses kicked. Maybe purely because you're so damn cocky."</p><p>"I am not. It's not cocky when it's deserved. I earned my confidence fair and square. I'm fuckin' awesome." Reno went on. "People would love to see me fight - especially with you there as my sidekick."</p><p>"Who says I'm the side kick?" Rude frowned.</p><p>"Well, you are. You're so quiet..." Reno shrugged.</p><p>"You do have the tendency to be over-the-top." Rude agreed. "...To make a show out of everything you do, to demand attention."</p><p>"That's right. So you'd be my sidekick. I'd go in there, swinging my weapon around like crazy, beatin' up everyone in my path. Hopefully they'd provide me with one, but if not... crow bar it is..." Reno laughed. "Then you'd kinda just back me up, beat up the bigger ones - though of course I'd be fine on my own and you know it... but the audience would love it."</p><p>"I'm sure they would, but we're not doing it." Rude disagreed. It was too dangerous. If the people who ran the fights wanted them to get hurt, they were going to get hurt. There was no way to know which way it would end up going, as it seemed those matches were more of a performance than anything else. They couldn't afford to risk being given the losing role. It could actually end up killing them.</p><p>"Why not?" Reno frowned. "Why don't I go in by myself then? I can handle it, and even if it's not fair, I'll find a way. I always do. I'm so much quicker than people ever expect me to be. They could send in a Behemoth-"</p><p>"No. We're not entering a Colosseum match. You are especially not doing it alone." Rude glared. "End of story."</p><p>Reno exhaled and frowned, but gave in. "Alright. Maybe next time... So, what are doing this time then? We split up then? I cover the south part of town, you cover the north?"</p><p>"Sure." Rude agreed.</p><p>"Are we flat out stealing or looking for odd jobs?" Reno asked.</p><p>"Whatever you think will be the most lucrative." Rude answered.</p><p>Reno nodded. "Meet back here in about an hour?"</p><p>Rude nodded as well, then headed off down the street.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you were waiting for things to get traumatizing (which I'm sure you were if you've read my other stuff - it's got to be an expectation at this point...) wait no longer! The dreadful, horrible traumatic stuff has arrived!! It's not really that bad though compared to some of the graphic stuff I've written... but certainly isn't pleasant either... Enjoy:</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 4</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"Hey." Reno smirked as he leaned over the counter of a street vendor's shop. It was a lady selling colorful potions of some kind. The one he and Rude had been sleeping across from for the past several hours.</p><p>"Are you in the market to buy?" She frowned down at him, looking quite skeptical.</p><p>Reno shrugged. "Not exactly... but I might be able to help you sell more. I've actually got some experience-"</p><p>She quickly shook her head and exhaled an annoyed breath. "I don't need employees or I'd have hired some. If you're not buying, please move along."</p><p>"Hold on, lady. Don't get snippy. I can walk up and down the town selling 'em for you. We'll reach like ten times the people that way... and I'm only gonna ask for like... thirty percent." Reno suggested.</p><p>"No." She stared.</p><p>"Twenty-five." He compromised.</p><p>"No." She said again. "How old are you?" She frowned.</p><p>Reno frowned too. He was never eager to answer that question.</p><p>"Do you need money? Are you in some kind of trouble?" She asked.</p><p>Reno felt his mouth drop open very slightly. That wasn't the response he'd expected. "I-" He hesitated. Nobody ever asked those kinds of questions these days. People basically treated him like an adult. Like a worthless criminal, like a problem.</p><p>"I don't have much to spare. I have to provide for myself and my family too... But I can give you twenty gil." She offered.</p><p>Reno felt a smile spread on his face. "Okay... Like, if I sell four or five? How much are you charging? What even are they?" He picked up a bottle filled with a purple liquid that almost seemed to glow.</p><p>"Please don't handle those." She hissed, snatching the bottle back from him. "You don't need to try to sell any. Like I said, I'm not looking for help. Just take the gil. Get yourself something to eat or a motel room for the night - there's a cheap one on the other end of town that's twenty gil per night, but you would have to share a room with whoever else decides to board there. It's like four or six beds per room." She explained.</p><p>"So..." Reno narrowed his eyes. "You're just giving me twenty gil? For nothing?"</p><p>She nodded, fishing around behind the counter and then holding out her hand. "Take it. Don't spend it on something foolish, and if I were you, I'd quit hassling people here... You're going to get mixed in with the wrong people and ruin your life."</p><p>Reno let out a soft laugh as he held his hand out and let her drop the gil into his palm. "Thanks, Ma'am. But my life's been ruined for a long time. I think I'll be fine."</p><p>The woman shook her head as Reno bowed slightly, stuffed the gil into his pocket, and took off down the street. That was pretty easy. Too bad there weren't more people like her roaming around Midgar.</p><p>Reno looked around at the various businesses and vendors as he walked. It wasn't really busy yet, as it was somewhat early afternoon, but he figured he'd probably be able to find someone already drunk or otherwise inebriated he could steal from. It was never too hard around here. It would probably be easier to pick pockets at night - since more people would be drinking and not have their wits about them so much... but it was Wall Market. Surely one in ten people here were already drunk.</p><p>As he continued walking, Reno paid attention to the people he passed, looking for ones who appeared some combination of rich, careless, stupid, and intoxicated. Depending on how well he and Rude did this afternoon, he figured he might need to suggest they stay into the evening - even into the early morning. Picking pockets of passed out drunks was pretty easy... but he also realized the most money would be found fairly early in the evening, when people were starting to get drunk, but hadn't spent all their money on it just yet. Picking pockets that were empty was of course useless.</p><p>Swallowing, Reno noticed his throat was pretty dry. He hadn't had anything to drink since Rude and he first got here in the morning. After his very long nap, he found he was pretty thirsty. He knew there was a public bathroom nearby. The water from the hand sink there would do well enough for that, so he headed there next.</p><p>Reno frowned as he entered the building, which was more of a shack, really. It didn't even seem like there was a working light inside, but there used to be. There was a switch, and a bulb...It just didn't work.</p><p>Fortunately, there was a window above the sink though, so he wasn't in here completely blind. Reno wrinkled his nose as he reached toward the faucet, which was rusty, hanging over a wash bin that looked like it hadn't ever been cleaned before. Maybe he shouldn't drink water from here after all... He could find someone selling water - or a vending machine. It would only cost a gil or two.</p><p>Reno glanced over his shoulder as the door behind him opened.</p><p>"Heard you out there talking to Marilda." A man spoke as he entered the room.</p><p>Reno looked around himself, raising his eyebrows. "Me?" He frowned. This guy was practically acting like they knew each other.</p><p>The man nodded. "Yes, you. The woman selling tonics a little ways down the street? That's Marlida. You were out there trying to get her to let you help sell her merchandise for part of the profits. You're looking for jobs to do for gil?" He asked.</p><p>"Uh..." Reno hesitated, casually running his fingertips over the cool metal of the crow bar he had hanging from his pants. Whoever this guy was, he was blocking the only exit, and he was big too - broad shoulders, at least six foot three or four...</p><p>"I've got four hundred gil you can earn." The guy went on. "It'd be fairly quick, and if you're really in need of money... four hundred'll go a long way..."</p><p>Reno frowned. This didn't feel right. Why would this guy approach him with such an offer? He knew nothing about Reno. Four hundred was a lot of gil to just give to some random kid for a job this guy didn't even know if he'd be good at.</p><p>"You interested?" The man raised his eyebrows. "It'll be quick and easy. Four hundred." He repeated.</p><p>"What's the job?" Reno wondered. He couldn't lie to himself. The offer was tempting, even if it did seem kind of shady.</p><p>"Well... first, you can call me Vin." The man held his hand out as though requesting for Reno to shake it.</p><p>Reno stared, frowning down at the guy's hand, not moving to take it in his own. He wasn't here to make friends, and this man was kind of giving him a bad feeling - just the way he had followed him in here instead of waiting for Reno to come back out to talk to him, blocked the only exit...</p><p>"What's the job?" Reno asked again.</p><p>This guy had a certain way about him Reno didn't like... He was probably going to ask Reno to do something illegal - and though he wasn't fully opposed to that necessarily, he knew he always had to be cautious about people like this. Delivering dangerous things to dangerous people, selling drugs... He'd done it all before, but it wasn't something to naively just take on without being careful about it. The last thing he wanted was to get on the shit list of some drug addict or drug dealer.</p><p>"No need to be rude, son..." The man drew his hand back with a small frown. "I can really help you out if you let me. Four hundred gil is a lot, right?" Vin raised his eyebrows and stepped closer.</p><p>"Not really." Reno glared. It was kind of a lot... but Reno didn't need this man to know how desperate he was. "If you don't have a job for me, if you're tryin' to get me to fuckin' guess what it is... I'm just gonna go... I got more important shit to do than play twenty questions with you, man." He exhaled. "Move." He breathed, staring the guy down.</p><p>Vin laughed. "You're a little firecracker, huh? I do have a job for you. It's actually very simple and straight forward. You're not gonna make four hundred gil in twenty minutes anywhere else, so you should listen up."</p><p>Reno crossed his arms over his chest and stared.</p><p>"Have you ever done any sex work?" Vin asked.</p><p>Reno felt his stomach flip as he stared, for once completely speechless. No one had ever asked him that before. Ever. He should have expected this might be something someone would ask for in Wall Market, but he had honestly not seen it coming.</p><p>"Don't look at me like that." Vin laughed. "It's not as scary as it sounds. I'll walk you through the whole thing. It's quick, easy... You'll make a lot of money with very minimal effort. Won't hurt or nothin'. It's actually a great way for a young, attractive little guy like you to make a lot of gil fast."</p><p>Reno shook his head no, taking a step back and breathing in a small breath as he eyed the door again and tightened his grip around the end of his crow bar. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it. This guy was pretty big, and he was in a fairly closed in space. He didn't have much room to dart around, to swing out wildly... It would really be best to just politely decline and to walk out unchallenged... but he wasn't sure this man was going to allow it.</p><p>"Twenty minutes is all I ask. And you'll get the full four hundred." Vin explained. "I promise I won't hurt you. We can take it slow while I teach you what I like... It's easy, son. I'll show you exactly how to do it if you're not sure-"</p><p>Reno shook his head. "No thanks, man..." He breathed, his voice smaller than he wished it were. This guy was going to let him say no, right? He was going to let him leave without a fight...? He hoped this was a question and not a demand.</p><p>"Now, don't freak out..." Vin spoke up, raising his hands in front of himself as he continued blocking the door with his bulky frame. "If you haven't done it before, I can respect that. We'll work around it. Do you know how to do a blow job? It's where you use your mouth to sexually pleasure someone. It's painless... just a little strange feeling if you haven't-"</p><p>"Move." Reno interrupted, sliding his hand down toward the crow bar on his pants again, but not pulling it into view just yet. "My answer's no. You do you, man... I don't care, but it's a no thanks from me. Find somebody else... It's fuckin' Wall Market. There's gotta be a dozen people out there who'd do it for free." He headed toward the door, but let out a soft gasp when the man pressed his arm across Reno's chest and pushed him back.</p><p>"Just get down on your knees, open your mouth... Breathe through your nose and I'll do the rest." Vin explained, putting his hands on Reno's shoulders and starting to shove him down.</p><p>Reno gritted his teeth together and grabbed out for his crow bar, gripping it tightly in his hand and swinging it quickly toward the man's gut.</p><p>"Get the fuck off of me!" Reno screamed, pulling the crow bar back so he could hit the guy again.</p><p>Vin was surprisingly quick and extremely strong, grabbing out at Reno's wrist and squeezing, hard, until Reno was forced to drop his weapon with a shaky, pained wince. Before he knew it, the man had both of his arms squeezed painfully in his fists, pinning him firmly against the wall.</p><p>Reno grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before blinking them back open and resuming fighting back. Now wasn't the time to get scared and shut down. He had to fight back. He had to get out of here.</p><p>"I said no, motherfucker!" Reno growled, thrashing under the man's hands, kicking and pulling at his arms. "Get off of me!"</p><p>"Stop fighting me. Hold still, you little brat. We're doing this." Vin breathed, squeezing his hands tightly around Reno's wrists, pressing his body against Reno's chest and thighs, firmly pinning him in place.</p><p>"No we're fucking not!" Reno spat, trying to thrash under the man's grip and heavy body as Vin pressed himself even more firmly against Reno to hold him securely and painfully against the wall. Reno let out a pained cry as his attacker held him down. "Stop! Get off of me! Get away!" He whimpered, letting out an angry growl when the man didn't budge. "Get the fuck off of me! Now!" Reno screamed, thrashing under his grip and trying to sound less scared. He wanted to come across as fucking angry, not terrified.</p><p>"Calm down..." Vin growled, almost panting as he held Reno securely in place. "Take a breath, kid... Calm down... I ain't gonna hurt you..."</p><p>Reno gritted his teeth together, tugging uselessly at his arms again and trying to squirm between the man's heavy body and the wall. "You're already hurting me you fucking prick! Let me go!" He screamed.</p><p>"Shhhh..." Vin forced Reno's wrists together so he could hold them both with one hand, pressing his other securely over the boy's mouth. "Stop screaming... Shhh... Stop it... " He whispered, agitation obvious in his voice as well as his gestures as he held his hand hard, painfully over the bottom half of Reno's face. "Don't make a fucking scene... I ain't asking for much, and you're getting paid more than you're probably worth. Take the fucking gil and do what I'm asking. It's not difficult."</p><p>Reno shook his head as best as he could, tugging with frustration at his arms. With the man's hand firmly over his mouth, he was only able to let out a shaky, frustrated, muffled noise - an attempt at further screaming.</p><p>"Stop fighting me, kid. I don't want to have to get rough." Vin growled, pressing his hand harder against Reno's mouth, pushing the back of his head painfully against the wall behind him. "What I want from you's easy. Harmless... It won't hurt, and you get paid for it. You go along with this, or I'll have to make you. If you won't use your mouth, we'll do it another way..."</p><p>Reno tried to shake his head again, but could barely move.</p><p>Vin exhaled an annoyed breath, finally moving his hand off of Reno's face, only to reach down toward the front of the boy's pants. "Fine then." He growled, grabbing at the button and viciously tearing at it.</p><p>"No!" Reno screamed, thrashing as best as possible, kicking out what little he was able. "Get off of me! Stop!"</p><p>"This is how we have to do it, kid." The man breathed, practically panting as he pulled down the zipper on Reno's pants and then grabbed at the waist band. "If you won't agree to do it the painless way, this is the only other option we have." Vin's voice sounded like he was angry and amused all at the same time, like he was pissed that Reno wasn't cooperating, but was kind of happy to have an excuse to be violent.</p><p>"Don't! Stop!" Reno screamed again, his voice breathless as fear seized his heart. This guy was really strong... If no one heard him, if Vin didn't willingly let him go, it didn't seem like Reno was going to be able to get out of this. He had to give fighting back and being loud all of his effort now. He couldn't let this happen. "Please don't!" He cried, his voice and body shaking much more than he wished. He never wanted to let on how scared he was. He just wanted to seem mad.</p><p>"Then you use your fucking mouth like I asked." Vin growled, still gripping the waist of Reno's pants in a tight fist and his wrists in the other. " I don't want to be rough. I don't want to force this. That's why I'm offering you money. Just do it... I'll get what I want, you'll get paid... Won't even hurt... It would be stupid of you not to agree to this. Especially considering how much money I'm gonna give you for it. So... What do you say? We got a deal?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.</p><p>Reno felt tears stinging at his eyes as his lip quivered. Being scared - showing that he was scared - made him feel weak, but he was scared, and maybe compared to this guy he was weak. Maybe he needed help this time, even if it had to be from a stranger. If he couldn't fight back on his own, if his speed and strength couldn't save him, maybe being loud would. "Help me!" Reno yelled, jerking at his arms uselessly and trying to twist his body under the weight of his attacker. Surely someone would hear... "Somebody help! Hel-"</p><p>"God damn it... Stop screaming!" Vin growled again, pressing his hand hard over Reno's mouth once again. "I don't want to have to hurt you." He breathed.</p><p>Reno continued squirming under Vin's grip, trying to turn his face to the side so he could scream again. Vin held his hand down hard, effectively silencing the boy as his grip around Reno's wrists tightened and he pressed his body harder against the young man, pinning him painfully in place.</p><p>"Relax..." Vin breathed, his voice shaking slightly with frustration. He clearly hadn't expected a struggle. Maybe most young men he asked to do this were happy enough to take the money and agree. Maybe he never had to actually fight someone over it before. "Take a couple breaths... You're not hurt... I won't hurt you..." Vin promised, as though that was Reno's main concern here. Number one, the fucker was hurting him right now. His grip was hard, painful... Number two, Reno didn't give a shit about getting hurt. He got hurt all the time. He just didn't want this creep forcing nasty sex shit on him.</p><p>Reno sniffed back unshed tears as he tried to make more noise and tugged at his trapped arms. Vin's hand over his face was so firmly in place, keeping him quiet and still at the same time. He could feel his breaths were almost painfully quick and frantic. He felt sweat gathering on his forehead, on his wrists under the man's harsh grip. He honestly didn't know what to do here. He'd never felt so utterly outmatched ever in his entire life.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 5</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Reno's breaths were shaky and short as he stared through tear-blurred eyes at the man whose hand was still pressed painfully over his mouth, keeping him from crying out again, from calling for help or yelling out any further insults for threats. At the moment, the young man felt almost completely defeated. This guy was much stronger than him. He was locked away in a building where no one could see him... Either they didn't hear him screaming and struggling, or they were pretending like they didn't. It was Wall Market... so entirely likely people had heard and were just looking the other way to get on with their own illegal, immoral activities.</p><p>"You're okay... Just breathe. Don't be scared, sweetheart..." Vin went on, as though his low voice was intended to be calming as his hand around Reno's wrists moved slightly, almost petting his arms. Reno wasn't being more still and quiet because he was calm or at ease... He was just losing this fight, unsure what to do next. He was holding still because he couldn't move. He was quiet because a giant hand was crushed over his mouth.</p><p>Still shaking, trying to blink his tears back before they fell, Reno swallowed. He stared back at Vin, wondering what it might take to get the guy to back off. Maybe a threat - that Reno would tell someone and get him in trouble if he didn't let him go... Would anyone even care if Reno told on the guy? Reno wasn't important to anyone but Rude, and Rude didn't have any pull around here... Maybe Reno could tell Vin Rude would beat the shit out of him if he did something... And Rude would too - if Reno told him about this... but Vin wasn't going to be scared of Rude. And Rude beating the guy's ass after the fact wouldn't do him any good now anyway. Reno needed to do something to prevent this, not to get revenge after.</p><p>"That's it... Just calm the hell down, kid..." Vin spoke, still a bit breathless, obviously still frustrated, but perhaps trying to sound more gentle than he was. "Take a couple breaths. Relax... You're making this into a much bigger thing than it needs to be. You're panicking when you don't need to. I told you, I won't hurt you if you just do what I ask... And I'll still pay even. You're getting a good deal outta this..."</p><p>Reno inhaled and exhaled shaky, quick breaths, having no choice for the moment but to remain still and quiet as Vin pinned him hard against the wall and stifled his voice with his hand.</p><p>"Will you promise not to bite me then?" Vin breathed, for some reason still with this idea in his head as he moved his hand slightly away from Reno's mouth. Just because Reno had given up on fighting for the moment didn't mean he was going to give in and do this...</p><p>Reno glared angrily at him, going against his instincts and not tugging at his arms or screaming for the moment. Fighting a losing battle, expending all of his energy to thrash around and scream while he was clearly outmatched wasn't helping him. He needed to take a moment to consider his surroundings - to come up with a plan... Like Rude would if he were here. Lashing out angrily wasn't going to work this time.</p><p>"I'll still give you the full four hundred..." Vin offered. "I can forgive what you just did... but only if you give me what I want, you take your time, do a good job. If you don't cooperate, things are gonna get nasty."</p><p>Reno shook his head, pulling with frustration at his trapped arms as Vin moved to hold one of his wrists with each of his hands again. This guy was so fucking strong. "I'm not doing it." Reno breathed, his voice shaking slightly. "Keep your fucking gil. I don't need it. I won't do this... I ain't going along with this bullshit, no matter how much money you offer."</p><p>"Come on, kid..." Vin breathed, leaning heavily against Reno, further trapping him against the wall. "You've already got me excited... I'm gonna pay you. You'll be okay. I'm not gonna be rough. You've just gotta use your mouth, suck a little... It won't hurt. Don't freak out about it. This doesn't have to get rough."</p><p>Reno groaned in pain as he tried to squirm under the man's hands, under his body heavily crushing against him. He really didn't appreciate this prick continuously threatening to get rough when he clearly already had gotten rough. Reno could feel the finger-shaped bruises starting to form on his wrists, maybe a knee-shaped one on his leg. The guy was being really fucking rough already. Reno really had no room to move, no space to shove or kick or knee the guy in the groin. He was extremely trapped.</p><p>"It won't hurt... Just get down on your knees, open your little mouth, relax... I'll do the rest. You just have to kneel there for like five minutes. Suck on it like a lolly pop. A big, long, lolly pop." Vin smirked.</p><p>Reno gritted his teeth together and turned his head, tugging uselessly at his wrists as he felt his breaths increasing again, with both fear and anger. "Fuck you, you sick motherfucker creep... If you don't get off me-"</p><p>"You have to do this, kid. Four hundred gil is so damn much for this kinda thing. Come on... How could a desperate kid like you refuse this offer? I kind of already started expecting a yes before I ever asked you." Vin explained, sounding almost desperate. "Son, you got to..."</p><p>"No... Find somebody else. I ain't fuckin' doing it." Reno grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head slightly to the side again, feeling a shudder go through his body when he was fairly certain he felt this guy's erection pressing against his stomach as the man leaned heavily, awkwardly against him. "Let go of me!" Reno groaned, his voice starting to shake again. He honestly wanted to cry. How could something like this happen? Reno prided himself on being quick, escaping anyone and everyone... He'd escaped police who were actively shooting at him, weird homeless people who came at him with knives... But some creep in a bathroom was the one who managed to hold him down? This was the guy he couldn't beat?</p><p>"Come on..." Vin begged. "You looked so fucking sweet sleeping over on that bench with your friend. Your friend who's so much taller than you, bigger... like you let him do stuff like this so he'll protect you... You do this stuff with him, right? I didn't think you'd be this damn difficult." He laughed breathlessly. "Just do this for me, buddy... It's painless. You'll be okay. I won't even get into your pants. We'll do it all above the waist... for you... above your waist. Not mine..." He laughed. "It's not like you haven't probably done it with your friend already... I won't be rough..."</p><p>Reno grimaced, tugging at his arms again. "I don't do this fuckin' shit with him... I don't do that with anyone. And I don't need him to fucking protect me... I don't suck his damn dick..." He glared.</p><p>Vin simply laughed, still breathing a sickening, almost panting noise as he held Reno down firmly. "How about a hand job for two hundred then?" He asked, letting go of one of Reno's arms and reaching down toward the front of his own pants, unbuttoning them and dragging Reno's hand down as he stuffed his own hand down into his pants and grabbed at himself.</p><p>"No!" Reno screamed, balling his free hand into a fist and punching out at the man's face. "Get off of me!"</p><p>"Damn it..." Vin growled, grabbing at Reno's wrists and slamming them painfully against the wall again as he leaned in close. "Cooperate, or I'm going to end up doing something you're really not going to like." He whispered.</p><p>Reno breathed in and out, shaky, quick breaths, feeling his heart pounding rapidly in his chest as Vin grabbed both of his wrists with only one of his hands.</p><p>"Four hundred is a lot of gil, son... You don't wanna do this... That's fine. I get that... But I do want it, and I'm going to pay you for your time. We both win here... Sometimes work isn't fun, but you do what you gotta do to get paid. Okay? Welcome to adulthood. Why don't we get this over with so you can go?" Vin chuckled, putting his fingertips under Reno's chin and tilting his face up.</p><p>Reno stared up at the man. Was this guy fucking serious? He glanced down at the floor a few feet away, where his crow bar was laying... He could reach it if he just got free for like five seconds. Reno exhaled a shaky breath and looked back up into Vin's eyes. Maybe if he played along just for a moment, it would give him the window of opportunity he needed.</p><p>He knew how strong the guy was now. He realized how quick he was. He was better prepared to fight back now that he knew his enemy was a little tougher than normal... Reno was so quick, so good at timing things right... He could beat this guy... He just needed a second chance.</p><p>"So?" Vin smirked. "How 'bout it? Mouth for four hundred, or hand for two hundred? Or... I'll do you in the ass for free... I'm not completely opposed to just forcing this, but if you don't go along with me here, if you make it difficult, I ain't payin' ya."</p><p>Reno grimaced, balling his hands into fists as he stared back at the man. He felt tears welling up in his eyes again. Reno typically felt practically invincible. He was such a good fighter, so quick and inventive with how he won fights and always ended up getting what he needed or wanted in the end... But this time, he was honestly scared he might not be able to get out of this.</p><p>"Shhh..." Vin whispered, squeezing his hand harder around Reno's wrists and leaning in close. "You poor thing. You look so scared... Don't cry, baby. I won't hurt you... You just have to do this, quick and easy. It'll be painless. It's not so scary, and you'll make a lot of money. You'll be glad you did it after. You don't gotta cry." He ran his fingers carefully over the younger man's cheek.</p><p>"I'm not fuckin' cryin'. Get off'a me and I'll do it. Okay?" Reno's voice shook. Even just pretending like he was going to go along with this made him feel like he was going to throw up.</p><p>"Really?" Vin's eyebrows rose. "You won't fight with me? You'll do it? I'll pay you and everything, so you're getting something out of this too..."</p><p>"Yeah. Really..." Reno breathed. He clearly didn't have a choice. He either agreed to do this, or had the guy forcing himself on him in an even worse way. If he made it seem like he was going to go along with this, the guy might give him more space, more freedom to move. Then Reno could reclaim his weapon and beat the shit out of this creep.</p><p>"Alright... Great." Vin smiled. "Mouth or hand?" He cocked his head to the side, still not loosening his grip even a little bit.</p><p>"Hand." Reno stared, feeling his lower lip tremble. He was so scared his plan wasn't going to work... That he was seriously either going to have to do this willingly, or get really, really hurt.</p><p>"You sure? That's only half the gil..." Vin reminded him. "All you've gotta do is breathe through your nose, kinda suck... you could even just sit there and do nothing as long as you don't bite down." He laughed. "I'll walk you through it as we go-"</p><p>Reno closed his eyes and exhaled. "I ain't fuckin' doin' that. I'll use my hand, okay? Let's just do it so I can go..." He whispered. Even pretending to agree to any part of this was making him feel all sorts of anxiety and dread. What if he couldn't get away? What was going to happen? Would this guy really force this on him?</p><p>"Alright..." Vin nodded, finally letting go of Reno's arms, but still remaining leaning in very close. If Reno tried to dodge away at this point, the guy would probably catch him again. He'd have to time this right. It might be his only chance...</p><p>"I think you'll find this isn't as bad as you're thinking... and if we both like it, maybe we can meet up again on a different day... after I get paid..." Vin laughed. "I can't afford to do this all the time." He noted, reaching back down into the front of his pants again. He still wasn't backing up at all. He still had Reno practically pinned against the wall. "But I also got some friends who might be interested if you're any good. You could make a living doin' this."</p><p>Reno swallowed nervously, glancing down at the man's hands, but quickly looking away before he accidentally saw something he didn't want to. What was he going to do if he couldn't get away? What if Vin kept him pressed up against the wall here? What if his window of opportunity never came? Reno was fast. He was a good fighter... but against this huge, six and a half foot tall man? With no weapon? While the guy already had him firmly crushed between his own huge body and a stone wall? How the hell was he going to get out of this?</p><p>"You're actually getting a great deal. Me paying you two hundred gil for this? I should'a offered fifty... But I made you a promise, so I'll pay up once we're done." Vin explained, grabbing toward Reno's hand. "Just get a firm, but gentle grip, and move slowly up and down... I'll tell you whether to go faster or slower."</p><p>Reno breathed in a sharp breath and pulled his arm back. This guy was wasting no time whatsoever. "Wait..." He whispered, turning his head away so he didn't accidentally see anything. The guy had been unzipping his pants and reaching into them the last Reno saw. He didn't want to know what it looked like down there now.</p><p>Vin just grabbed his arm harder, pulling it down toward his crotch. "You've gotta cooperate, son. This won't work if I have to force you... I'll have to do it the hard way in that case... And you won't like that."</p><p>"Wait!" Reno stammered again, pulling at his arm as he felt his heart beating faster and faster. "Just wait!"</p><p>"What exactly is it we're waitin' for, son?" Vin frowned, still holding Reno's arm in a tight fist, but not pulling it down toward his crotch for the moment. "I ain't kidding. If you don't do this on your own, you're not getting paid. And if I have to force it anyway, I'm not using your hand or your mouth. I'm gonna turn you around, pull your pants down, and I'll just go wild on you. It'll fuckin' hurt you for sure."</p><p>"I gotta get a drink..." Reno interrupted with a whisper, his voice so small he could barely hear himself.</p><p>"What's that, baby?" Vin leaned down closer.</p><p>"A drink?" Reno whispered again, leaning away as much as he could. He felt so close to tears. He was terrified this wasn't going to work, that this man wasn't going to let him go even for a second. "Can I get a drink first? I'm really thirsty... That's why I came in here... Please..." His voice shook. "I came in here to get a drink. I'm... just... please let me get a drink."</p><p>Vin narrowed his eyes, then nodded toward the sink and took a small step back. "Sure. Get your little mouth all wet and maybe you can use that instead." He suggested.</p><p>Reno exhaled a shaky breath, stepping toward the sink, then quickly darting toward the door, grabbing his crow bar up off the floor and immediately spinning around, smacking out at the man's hands first. He wasn't going to let this creep fucking grab it again.</p><p>"Damn it!" Vin growled, grabbing toward Reno's left arm with one of his hands and swinging his other fist out, hitting Reno across the face.</p><p>With a shaky wince, Reno stumbled back, quickly pulling his arm away from the man's grip and hitting him hard in the back of the thigh, so that he stumbled slightly, almost falling to his knees.</p><p>"Don't ever fucking touch me again!" Reno growled, swinging the crow bar wildly back and forth, hitting the guy against his shoulder, then his gut again, then finally against the side of his head.</p><p>Reno breathed in and out, shaky, frantic breaths as he stared down at the man, who now lay unconscious on the floor. He gripped the crow bar harder, bringing his other hand up toward his nose, which he could feel warm blood trickling down from.</p><p>Reno let out a small, shaky sob as he dragged his sleeve across his face, mopping up both tears and blood. He felt his hands shaking. His whole body was shaking. He wasn't sure he'd ever been more frightened in his whole life. With another shaky inhale, Reno knelt down and felt in Vin's pockets, taking out the four hundred gil, then climbing back up onto unsteady legs.</p><p>As quickly as he could manage, Reno darted out of the building, running toward the closest secluded alley he could find. He ran down between the buildings and behind a dumpster, to get as far away from other people as he could. He really didn't want to deal with anyone else right now.</p><p>Leaning his back against the side of the building, Reno let himself slide down to the ground, drawing his knees up against his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He could feel his whole body trembling... He couldn't believe what had just happened, what he came so close to not being able to escape from...</p><p>Laying his forehead against his knees and hugging his arms around himself tighter, Reno started to cry, shaky, breathless sobs. He wasn't the type of person to do that - to cry out of fear, frustration, sadness... He knew better than to waste his time feeling sorry for himself. Crying didn't solve shit... But he couldn't help but to do so now. Reno wasn't sure he had ever been that scared in his whole life.</p><p>Vin hadn't really hurt him - not any worse than lots of other people had in the past. The guy punched him, gave him a bloody nose... He probably was going to have bruises on his arms from being held down too hard, but he wasn't hurt. Not significantly.</p><p>Fighting the guy off hadn't been that difficult either. It took a couple tries, but he did it fairly easily. Perhaps it was so scary just because he didn't fully get out of it due to being a good fighter... He kind of had to hope the man was stupid enough to let go of him when he did. If this guy had been more forceful - if he hadn't let Reno go to get a drink... would Reno have gotten away?</p><p>Sniffing back more tears, Reno curled in tighter, making himself small, trying to keep his shaking sobs from getting too loud. He didn't need anyone coming back here, asking if he was okay, asking what happened.</p><p>Placing his crow bar over his shoes, Reno closed his eyes and focused on breathing. He was fine. He was going to be okay. This wasn't the end of the world. He'd lived through all sorts of scary, violent things. This wasn't so bad... He just needed to calm himself down, to stay here for a while, in the alley, by himself.</p><p>As he focused on breathing, Reno felt himself calming down slowly but surely. He knew Rude would be meeting him in less than an hour. Then they could go home. Their home wasn't much, but it was home, for now, and it felt a lot safer in his memory than this hell hole did. That's where he wanted to be... In that cold, dark little shack, with Rude next to him... Just sitting there. Safe...</p><p>All things considered, today had gone fairly well... He got four hundred and twenty more gil... plus most of the two hundred seventy from the day before... and whatever Rude managed...</p><p>He and Rude were able to get quite a bit of gil in quite a short time, neither of them got hurt in a big way. They still had a few hours of daylight to make it most of the way home without having to be in the dark. He was alright. He and Rude both were. They were going to be absolutely fine - better than fine even. They could buy food and maybe a blanket so Reno didn't have to keep huddling under Rude's old jacket at night... Maybe they could get Rude a new jacket even. Things were going to be fine.</p><p>Reno had gotten scared, a little bruised up... But that was all. He wasn't hurt badly. Vin hadn't actually done anything. Reno got away from him before he could. He was safe now. He was okay... Things were actually looking pretty good. He just wanted to not be in Wall Market anymore... maybe never again.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There are 8 chapters, actually. I had originally had the chapter number set to 7 but I ended up making one of the chapters really, REALLY long while editing it and it ultimately became two chapters instead of one... So if you were paying attention to the number of chapters it originally said, take note that it's 8 now.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 6</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Reaching a hand into his pocket as he walked, Rude felt the smooth sides of the coins he'd collected. He managed to pick three different people's pockets for a grand total of fifty six gil. It wasn't the best he'd ever done, but it wasn't the worst either.</p><p>It had actually taken him a lot longer than he had expected. It was the middle of the day, so people weren't out and about as much as at night, and most people weren't highly intoxicated yet. Night time was the best time to steal people's money... But Reno and Rude had an unspoken understanding that they'd rather not be here after dark.</p><p>The first guy he stole from was a man at the bar uptown. Rude sat down and struck up a conversation since the man was already visibly intoxicated and it looked like it was going to be easy. But the guy just kept talking. Even when Rude stopped saying anything back. It took a while for him to look away long enough to Rude to feel comfortable snatching the small bag of coins off the guy's belt. But he did manage and got about thirty gil out of it.</p><p>The next two didn't take as long, but they didn't have as much either... And the couple more people he had on his radar ended up being too aware of their surroundings. They seemed almost suspicious of him, and that of course wouldn't do. Not unless he wanted to sprint out of town immediately after taking their money. So he didn't end up having an opening to take anything from them.</p><p>Now he was headed back toward where he and Reno had parted ways. He was pretty sure he was a bit late, but Reno wasn't here yet...</p><p>With a frown, Rude looked up and down the street. He wondered if Reno got impatient and wandered off to occupy himself somewhere else. Reno didn't do well with waiting. Maybe he was running late too. Maybe he hadn't ever returned here in the first place.</p><p>Rude stood near the bench they'd slept on earlier in the day for a few minutes, letting his eyes roam up and down the street. Reno was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>With a soft exhale, Rude started back the way he came. Reno probably just lost track of time, but Rude didn't want to just stand here and wait if his friend might be in trouble somewhere. It had happened before - that the smaller man chose the wrong guy to steal from, that said guy and several of his friends ended up picking a fight...</p><p>Reno was a good fighter. He was smart, quick... but four against one, with each of the four being quite a bit bigger than Reno had been scary - for Rude at least. Rude wasn't sure if he really needed to step in and help. Maybe Reno could have beaten them on his own - he had insisted afterwards that he was fine and had it under control - but Rude didn't like the look of it at the time, and had stepped in to help.</p><p>Just in case Reno had gotten himself into a similar situation again, Rude began checking various nooks, shops, restaurants and alleys.</p><p>It only took him a few minutes to reach a long alley with a dumpster near the end. He headed down, frowning when he quickly spotted Reno next to the dumpster. The younger man was on the ground, with his knees drawn up to his chest. His head was laying on his knees and he gripped his crow bar with was mostly resting on top of his feet in a loose fist. He almost looked like he was sleeping.</p><p>Shaking his head, Rude reached down toward Reno's shoulder. "Decide to take a nap?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.</p><p>Reno flinched and inhaled a sharp breath, quickly untangling himself from the little ball he'd been curled into and swinging the crow bar up toward Rude's face.</p><p>"Reno!" Rude dodged back. "It's me!"</p><p>"Rude?" Reno blinked, breathing in and out quick, nervous breaths as he stared at Rude like he barely recognized him. "Sorry... I'm... I guess I'm a little on-edge..." He whispered with a forced laugh. "Glad you're finally here though. I'm ready to get the hell outta this fuckin' place."</p><p>Rude couldn't help but to stare speechlessly down at his friend as Reno dragged himself up to his feet. The younger man looked horrible. He had dried blood all over him, coming from his nose, running down his chin and dribbled down the front of his shirt. It looked like he'd tried to clean it off with his shirt sleeve too, which was heavily stained with several messy red smears. The boy even looked like he had been crying earlier. His eyes weren't red now - he had stopped crying a while ago... but he did have very subtle marks down his cheeks. He had definitely been crying earlier.</p><p>If Rude had to guess, he'd assume Reno had somehow gotten into a fight - maybe lost said fight, and ran back here to hide... Then maybe he fell sleep waiting for the hour to be up so he could meet back up with his partner. The whole situation was odd. Reno didn't often run from a fight, but didn't often walk away after a fight with a bloody nose either, and certainly didn't end up crying about it. He was more likely to get angry than to be sad or scared. It seemed there was more to this story than the obvious.</p><p>"Are you okay? Reno, what happened?" Rude breathed, stepping closer and leaning in. He reached out and brushed some of Reno's hair out of his eyes, to better see his face. The bloody nose was the only obvious injury the younger man had, but he definitely had tear streaks down his cheeks too. Whatever had happened left him very upset. Upset enough to cry.</p><p>Reno stared back with wide eyes, shaking his head and then shrugging. "Nothing..." He insisted, looking quite nervous before forcing a small laugh. "How about you? Did you get a lot of gil? I got quite a bit. Wasn't easy..."</p><p>"Reno..." Rude frowned. "Don't lie to me. You're hurt. That's not nothing. What happened?"</p><p>For a moment, Reno continued staring silently back. His eyes were huge, shining with the beginning of new tears. He looked uncharacteristically uneasy and his lip trembled ever so slightly. He seemed content to just pretend like he was fine, but Rude could see the younger man wasn't fine. Rude wasn't going to let this go without an explanation.</p><p>"Reno?" Rude asked again. "You have to tell me..." He reached out and moved some loose strands of Reno's red hair out of his eyes again. The younger man always let it hang part way over his face, but somehow it seemed even more unkempt than usual now.</p><p>Narrowing his eyes, Rude tried to better scrutinize Reno's appearance, to attempt to figure this out on his own since Reno wasn't talking. "Somebody hit you? Did you get in a fight?" Rude guessed.</p><p>Reno shook his head. "I got four hundred and twenty gil." He offered with a forced, breathless laugh as very visible tears started to well up in his eyes.</p><p>"And how did you manage that?" Rude stared.</p><p>"I... Well a nice lady gave me twenty... Like completely for free. She just gave it to me." Reno breathed, looking down at the ground. "And a guy... I beat him up and took four hundred from him..."</p><p>"You just beat him up? You attacked someone?" Rude frowned. Is that why Reno was so upset? Did he try stealing from someone who realized what he was doing and made it difficult? Then he fought the guy and took the money anyway? This other person clearly hit back.</p><p>Reno still stared at the ground, breathing quick, somewhat shaky breaths as he went on. He seemed so damn nervous. "I just went into the bathroom to get a drink outta the sink... That's all I was fuckin' goin' in there for. I was thirsty. I still am... I never even got the drink..." He breathed.</p><p>Rude silently stared, waiting for his friend to continue. So far, this story made very little sense.</p><p>"He followed me in there." Reno explained. "Said he had four hundred gil I could earn... b-but then he started saying weird shit, like asking me to-" Reno paused, closing his eyes and exhaling a soft breath. "He wanted me to suck his dick." Reno finally blurted.</p><p>Rude held his breath as he waited for the rest of the explanation. The route from this man asking Reno to do that, to Reno ending up with four hundred gil and a bloody nose didn't seem like it could be anything pretty.</p><p>"I just told him no... I didn't even ask him for money. I didn't try to steal from him or anything. I just wanted a damn drink. He approached me." Reno whispered, still not making eye-contact with Rude. "I wasn't even being sneaky or aggressive or anything. I didn't do anything... I was even nice when I declined. Nicer than I wanted to be. But he wouldn't let me leave... He said I had to do it - willingly for money, or... he'd just do it anyway and not pay me... He wouldn't let me leave, Rude... so I had to attack him... I hit him with the crow bar, took the money, and ran..."</p><p>"Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Rude wondered, his eyes wide and his chest cold as he put his hand on Reno's shoulder and looked him up and down. The situation his friend just described sounded positively terrifying.</p><p>Reno shook his head. "I'm not hurt... Just the bloody nose..." He looked up, finally letting his eyes lock with Rude's. They were brimming with tears and his lower lip was trembling more now. He was clearly very close to breaking down.</p><p>Rude exhaled, reaching out and silently pulling Reno into a hug as the younger man started to audibly cry. He could feel Reno's shoulders shaking as the boy hugged him back, pulling himself close against Rude's chest.</p><p>Staring at the outside wall of one of the buildings that made up the alley, Rude focused on his own breathing. He was extremely angry, but he couldn't let his anger overtake everything else. What Rude wanted to do was to go off and find this guy, kick his ass... Even with Reno already having done so, it wasn't enough. Rude wanted to hurt him too.</p><p>Reno was clearly quite capable of taking care of himself. The guy hit him back obviously, but Reno ended up getting away with the man's money. Reno won the fight from what Rude could see... But he shouldn't have had to fight this person in the first place.</p><p>This wasn't even a matter of the younger man trying to steal from the wrong person. From what Reno had told him, it seemed this guy just cornered him and decided he was going to make Reno do what he wanted, regardless of how Reno felt about it. He didn't leave the boy the option to politely decline and be on his way. For Reno to have to physically fight him, and for him to end up with a bloody nose within the course of it all proved that the interaction was needlessly violent. This man didn't just ask Reno if he was interested in performing sexual acts for money. He demanded it. And Reno wasn't even an adult... The whole situation was wrong on so many levels.</p><p>Rude hugged Reno tighter, resting his cheek against the top of the smaller man's head. It was easy to forget that Reno was so young, so vulnerable in a way. He had such a blunt, aggressive personality. He was vulgar, kind of a dick sometimes even... He could be positively violent if he felt the need to be, but he was still just a teenage boy, with a kind heart under his jumpy, brash exterior. A skinny, uncertain, defensive young man, only trying to survive in this cruel world.</p><p>Reno sniffed and pulled back out of the embrace. "Sorry..." He whispered, looking down at the ground.</p><p>"Don't be." Rude frowned.</p><p>Reno swallowed and continued staring at Rude's shoes.</p><p>It was strange to see the ordinarily confident, talkative young man so uncertain, quiet, and vulnerable. Having known each other for some years now, of course Rude had seen him upset before - emotionally hurt, sad even... but it was rare, so Rude wasn't sure how to best handle it.</p><p>"Here..." Rude reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed a bottle of water he'd bought earlier. "Let's get you cleaned up a little." He handed Reno the bottle, then pulled out a handkerchief out of his other pocket.</p><p>"Is that clean?" Reno laughed, taking a long drink from the water bottle and nodding toward the cloth in Rude's hand.</p><p>"Of course it is." Rude smiled. "It's me you're talking to."</p><p>Reno handed the water back and Rude splashed some of it onto the handkerchief, replacing the bottle's lid and placing it on the ground. Then he stood back up to his full height and started carefully clearing away the dried blood under Reno's nose.</p><p>Reno was uncharacteristically silent as he stood still and somewhat rigid, letting Rude work.</p><p>"You okay?" Rude asked, glancing toward Reno's eyes.</p><p>"Yeah." Reno whispered.</p><p>Rude nodded. "Tell me if I hurt you." He instructed, running the cloth carefully over the crusted over stream of blood that had run down Reno's chin. He imagined Reno might be in pain after taking a hit hard enough to produce this much blood, and didn't want the boy to just silently bear it if Rude accidentally hurt him more.</p><p>"Did you manage to get any money?" Reno finally asked, seemingly ready to move on and talk about something else.</p><p>"A little." Rude answered. "Fifty six."</p><p>Reno nodded slightly. "That's pretty good..."</p><p>Rude shrugged one shoulder. "It's alright. Could'a done better. It was harder than usual."</p><p>"Well, if you didn't have to suck anyone's dick to get it, I think it's safe to say you did well." Reno forced a laugh. "Better than me."</p><p>Rude exhaled, shaking his head. Maybe Reno wanted to joke about this as a defense mechanism, but Rude didn't think it was funny. He wasn't going to force himself to laugh. Not at that.</p><p>Reno stuck his lip out in a pout and looked down again. He clearly didn't think it was funny either. It was just easier for him to pretend it was all one big joke than to acknowledge how much the incident upset him.</p><p>"I didn't suck his dick..." Reno blurted. "I wasn't implying that I did..."</p><p>"Okay." Rude nodded.</p><p>Reno bit his lower lip. "I really didn't..." He promised, reaching up with his hand and gripping Rude's arm as he stared wide-eyed, almost desperately up at his friend. "Rude, I didn't. I got away... and I would'a never willingly done that... I'd bite it off first. I didn't do it."</p><p>"Reno... Okay." Rude stared at him, grabbing the younger man's hand in his own and squeezing lightly. "I believe you... But just so you know, if you did do that. If he made you, and you were scared he'd hurt you so you went along with it... If he made you, and you did it... That wouldn't be your fault. I wouldn't think less of you."</p><p>"But I didn't." Reno breathed, looking legitimately worried.</p><p>"I know. I believe you, Reno. I was just saying it wouldn't have been anything to be ashamed of if someone hurt you and it was beyond your control. I believe you though. You don't have to try to convince me. I believe you." Rude nodded. "I think I got it all." He noted, folding his handkerchief into a small triangle and narrowing his eyes as he stared down into Reno's. "You okay?"</p><p>Reno forced a small laugh and shrugged. "Yeah. I already told you. He didn't really hurt me. He got me the one time..." He gestured up to his slightly bruised nose. "But I got him better. He wasn't even conscious when I left him there. He barely even touched me. I'm fine."</p><p>Rude continued staring down at him, watching, trying to read him. "You're not hurt... but are you okay?" He asked again. "I'd be pretty understandably upset if someone did that to me. Even if he didn't hurt you, just the fact that he tried..."</p><p>"People try to hurt me all the time." Reno stood himself up straight and crossed his arms over his chest. "Those officers yesterday tried to shoot us, Rude. This shit just happens sometimes. You beat 'em up, get away, and move on. I'm fine. I know I kinda... freaked out just now, but I'm fine... I overreacted, maybe..."</p><p>"Okay..." Rude nodded, accepting that Reno didn't want to dwell on this. "I don't think you over-reacted, but if-"</p><p>"Do you think we could just go home now?" Reno interrupted, his shoulders slumping slightly. "We don't gotta talk about this anymore... It's fine, and I'm fine... Just... I think I've had enough of Wall Market..." He added with a nervous laugh and a forced smile.</p><p>"Yeah." Rude breathed, forcing a small smile of his own. "We can go home. I think that's a good idea. We got enough gil. We'll be fine for a while."</p><p>"Let's stick together next time." Reno suggested.</p><p>Rude nodded. There was no way in hell they were splitting up again any time soon. Not after this.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 7</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"I was thinkin' we could get you a new jacket, Rude." Reno spoke as he and Rude made their way down the path leading toward Sector 5.</p><p>Rude smiled. "You're the one who needs a jacket, Reno."</p><p>Reno wrinkled his nose. "I'll just take your old one."</p><p>"It's got holes in it." Rude frowned.</p><p>Reno shrugged one shoulder. "I like it though. I'm always borrowing it anyway."</p><p>Rude shrugged as well, looking up at the sky. It was starting to get dark, and they were only about halfway between sectors 6 and 5. They were probably going to be walking in the dark for at least a half an hour before they made it back.</p><p>"So... for real, Rude... Do you think you'd enter a Colosseum fight with me sometime? Like if we're really super careful, more than normal, plan it really well, make sure we're like completely prepared for anything?" Reno wondered, looking toward his friend with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.</p><p>Rude narrowed his eyes. Reno looked so damn serious.</p><p>"I really think we could win. You and I are a perfect team. I'm quick, you're really strong... People underestimate both of us. No one expects me to strike out so fast and hard, and you kinda just stand there, quietly waiting and then beat the shit outta people once they make a move. Together we got the best of both worlds. We've got everything." Reno went on. "And some of those fights pay out really well."</p><p>Rude shook his head. "You don't know who or what you're fighting until you're in there though... Even watching another match, thinking you could do it... The next match might be totally different. If they want you to lose, they'll send in ten guys instead of two, a whole pack of guard dogs instead of just a couple."</p><p>"It's not like they're gonna force you to keep fighting if you get in over your head." Reno reminded him. "They'd let you forfeit."</p><p>"I can't see you doing that in any circumstance." Rude noted. Reno was too proud to admit defeat. He'd probably literally fight to the death rather than to willingly give up in front of a whole stadium of spectators.</p><p>Reno smirked and shrugged, but didn't disagree.</p><p>They continued walking in silence for a moment, until Reno turned toward him with a suspicious frown. "You hear tha-" His words were cut off with a grunt, and by the time Rude had turned fully toward his friend, Reno was on the ground.</p><p>Rude suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of his head and heard the shuffling of feet behind him. He stumbled forward with a pained wince, landing on his knees for a split second before he felt hands on his arms, holding tight, dragging him backward.</p><p>Letting out a quick breath, Rude looked around himself, trying to figure out what had happened as his vision spun. Somebody had hit him - hard...</p><p>He looked to the side, toward where Reno had been, in time to see two men he didn't recognize dragging the younger man up. They must have hit him pretty damn hard, because he looked either unconscious or very close to it.</p><p>"This is the little brat that stole my money." One of the men growled, dragging Reno roughly up off the ground by his arms.</p><p>With a grimace, Rude inhaled a small breath, trying to keep himself calm and collected. Reno was completely limp - definitely unable to fight back at the moment as the guy dragging him up off the ground held him rather roughly by his upper arms. This man was talking about Reno stealing his money - it could either be the guy the boy took the 400 gil from, which he told Rude about - or possibly someone else. Reno didn't always keep Rude informed about all the trouble he got himself into.</p><p>Rude silently watched and listened, trying to blink through the pain in his head and regain his bearings before he attempted anything defensive. There were two guys on Reno, two on him... Fighting them off himself while Reno was knocked out was possible, but not until he had his wits about him a little more. Whoever had hit him did it hard. Hard enough that he could barely see straight, and could hardly focus on anything but the pain in his head.</p><p>"That kid beat you up, Vin?" One of the men holding onto Rude laughed. "He don't look like much."</p><p>"He's a sneaky little snake." Vin, apparently, growled, grabbing the crow bar off of Reno's belt and throwing it further down the path. "Acted all sweet and meek until he got a chance to beat me over that head with that."</p><p>Rude swallowed nervously, hoping this guy would just take his money and leave. Reno would be pissed at Rude when he woke back up if he knew Rude didn't fight back to keep the money, but at this point, Rude recognized that they were out-numbered, and for now, out-matched.</p><p>Reno's brows knitted with worry and he let out a small, pained groan as Vin hauled him over toward a pile of old crates thrown messily next to a chain link fence. The man slammed Reno's back hard against the fence and started feeling the boy's pockets. Likely looking for his money. Rude could feel one of the men behind him checking his pockets as well, but he didn't care. Money was the lowest priority for him at the moment. He hardly had any anyway. Reno had most of it.</p><p>Exhaling a breath and blinking a few times, Rude stared, taking note of everything around him before deciding how to handle this. Two pairs of hands held onto him - one man to each of his arms. The hands felt big, strong. He hadn't looked back at the men yet. He didn't know what the guys holding onto him even looked like, but they felt big just judging by their hands. They held tight too, like this wasn't the first time they'd been charged with holding onto somebody - making sure they didn't escape. This probably wasn't going to be as simple as him just pulling away. These men were going to be difficult.</p><p>Meanwhile, Reno was starting to regain consciousness. His soft moans indicated that he was in quite a bit of pain from being hit hard enough to knock him out... And Rude knew Reno wasn't going to let this go without a fight - especially not with Rude here to back him up. Rude was prepared to fight if he had to, but also prepared to grab Reno and physically drag the boy away to avoid a battle they might not be capable of winning right now.</p><p>"Hey, son... You wakin' up..." Vin sounded amused, but also like he was simmering with anger underneath as he stuffed whatever money he'd collected from Reno into his own pocket and pushed the young man harder against the fence with a fist wrapped up in the front of his shirt. "Remember me, little guy? You owe me something, buddy. You remember?"</p><p>Reno blinked slowly, still whimpering softly as he struggled to fully wake back up.</p><p>"Hey." Rude finally called out, gaining the attention of all four of their attackers. "Just take the money and go... You got back all that he took from you and more. Just go. We don't want to fight."</p><p>"We're not gonna fight." Vin scoffed.</p><p>"We will if you don't leave." Rude glared.</p><p>"Make sure you two are holding on that one tight." Vin glared, ignoring Rude's threat, then shaking his head and focusing back on Reno, who was a little more alert now. "You ready to give me that hand job, buddy? You said you would."</p><p>Reno shook his head and shrunk back, feeling on his belt for his crow bar, which was gone now, before looking wildly around the clearing, spotting the crow bar on the ground, then making eye contact with Rude, who felt just as trapped as Reno looked.</p><p>"I got friends to beat your ass if you don't cooperate this time. And you're not fuckin' tricking me into letting you go either. Not even for a second." Vin smirked, reaching his hand down toward the front of his pants and starting to unbutton them. "Ready?"</p><p>Reno let out an angry growling noise as he gritted his teeth together and balled his hand into a fist, punching out at Vin's face.</p><p>"God damn it!" Vin growled, grabbing both of Reno's arms and dragging him back away from the fence. "Fine, you fucking brat!" He yelled, turning Reno around and slamming him hard against the stack of crates next to the fence.</p><p>"Don't!" Reno screamed, trying to stand himself back up as the man pushed him face-first down against the wooden boxes so that he was bent over them with his attacker's body pinning him further in place. "Get the fuck off of me!" His voice shook.</p><p>"Stop!" Rude demanded. "You got your money back. Just go." He breathed, still not fighting back against the two men holding onto his arms, but realizing he was going to probably have to.</p><p>"Don't fucking touch me!" Reno screamed, pushing up with his arms, then reaching back, shoving against the man behind him. "Get off of me you gross fucking creep!"</p><p>"Hold down his arms." Vin instructed one of his friends as he placed his hand on the back of Reno's head, holding him down harshly.</p><p>Reno let out a shaky whimper as the other guy did as he was told, grabbing at Reno's wrists and pinning them against the crate.</p><p>"You gonna have sex with him right here?" The man's friend frowned as he seemed to almost struggle to keep Reno's arms still. "Right in the open? With us here too?"</p><p>"Yes. I am." Vin growled, grabbing at the waist of Reno's pants. "Look away if you don't fucking like it... but I'll bet seeing and hearing this is gonna get you excited enough to wanna go next. We got all the time in the world. We can all have a fucking go!"</p><p>"Let me go! Get the fuck off of me! Get off of me! Now! Let go of me, damn it!" Reno pulled violently at his arms, which the other man was still holding down firmly, putting seemingly all of his strength into it.</p><p>"He's really fightin' me, Vin..." The other guy frowned, clearly having a hard time keeping Reno's wrists in his grip.</p><p>"Break his fucking arm then." Vin suggested, using both of his hands to grip at the waist band of Reno's pants, pulling violently, but fortunately without making much progress.</p><p>"Stop!" Reno screamed, his voice shaking, somewhere between completely pissed off and completely terrified.</p><p>Rude felt the hands gripping his arms tightening as he tried to think fast. Breaking free from these two wasn't going to be easy. He wondered if he could appeal to their sense of morality instead. There was no way all four of these men were just as depraved as the last. Surely someone here was morally opposed to this...</p><p>"Don't let him do this..." Rude breathed, turning toward one of the men holding onto his left arm. "You know this is wrong..."</p><p>Fortunately, the guy did seem to look uneasy. He was grimacing as he stared ahead at his friend, who still pulled at Reno's pants, trying to wrestle them down, but fortunately for some reason not thinking to reach toward the front to unbutton them first. Reno was pretty skinny, but the pants he wore today fit him well, and weren't going to come down easily while still buttoned.</p><p>Reno continued struggling as best as he was able with two different men holding him down against the crates. Rude could see his friend was putting all of his effort and strength into escaping, but it just wasn't working out for him. Each of the two men holding him were fairly big, and Reno just wasn't. When he didn't have the option to be quick and sneaky, when he had no weapon and was already held down, he was easily outmatched.</p><p>"You're gonna wish you just cooperated earlier today, you brat." Vin growled, still pulling violently at Reno's pants, managing to wrestle them down a few inches as Reno's breathless struggles were quickly turning into frantic, trembling noises that almost resembled sobs.</p><p>Gritting his teeth together and balling his hands into fists, Rude looked back toward the man on his left. "He's sixteen years old... Don't let your friend do this. Reno's just a kid. Don't let this happen. Please..." Rude begged. He could try to fight back against these two if he had to, but with Reno already incapacitated, it wasn't going to be an easy fight. Four against one pretty much, and Rude was starting from a disadvantage.</p><p>"Vin... He's only a kid... Why don't we just take the money-" The guy started.</p><p>"No!" Vin interrupted, pulling harshly at the waist of Reno's pants, managing to get them another inch or so down. "He stole my money. He beat me with a fucking crow bar. He's not just a fucking kid. He's old enough to know better. He fucked me. Now I'm gonna fuck him."</p><p>Rude looked back and up toward his left, noticing with a sinking heart that the guy didn't seem like he was going to keep arguing.</p><p>"Stop!" Reno cried, his voice shaky as he continued struggling with all of his efforts, but making painfully little progress. Rude could hear in his friend's voice that Reno was close to full-panic. His words were shaky with tears, breathless, frantic, terrified. "Get off of me!" Reno choked as he continued violently, yet unfortunately uselessly struggling.</p><p>Closing his eyes and inhaling a steadying breath, Rude mentally prepared himself to deal with this on his own. As calmly as he could manage while his heart pounded wildly in his chest, Rude leaned subtly back, trying to get a good idea of what the situation behind him looked like without being obvious about it. One of the men holding onto him was pretty much directly behind him - very close. The second one was more to the side. He could work with this. He'd just have to time it out right, make each of his actions count.</p><p>"Let this be a lesson to you, you little brat. Someone offers you four hundred gil for a blow job? You take it..." Vin growled, pushing his hand up over Reno's back, under his shirt, then running it up toward his side and down along his ribs as Reno struggled to shrink away. "Mmmm... Your skin is soft..." He noted.</p><p>"Get your fucking hands off me!" Reno screamed, pulling desperately at his arms, trying uselessly to squirm under Vin's weight as the man behind him leaned on him heavily. The boy choked out a tiny whimper and thrashed around a bit more, but Vin held him down firmly. Reno wasn't going anywhere any time soon and Vin knew it.</p><p>"What? You don't like this?" Vin laughed, shoving his hand further under Reno's shirt.</p><p>"Don't fucking touch me! Let go!" Reno sobbed, tugging at his arms again. "Please let me go!"</p><p>"Oh, so you're polite now, huh? Little late for that. I wouldn't have even hurt you. You know that? It would'a been real easy money for you. Quick and painless. No harm done. Now you've pissed me off, and I wanna hurt you. My friends are probably gonna wanna have a go at you next too." Vin ran his hand back toward the waist of Reno's pants, which were a couple inches down his thighs at this point, with only the top of his boxer shorts still covering his dignity.</p><p>Reno let out a shaky, panicked breath, squeezing his eyes shut and tugging at his arms. He was clearly unable to really move much. "Get off of me!" He screamed again, his voice trembling, unable to mask his fear with his anger.</p><p>Rude exhaled a frustrated growl as he threw his head back, knocking hard against the nose of one of the men behind him. Once that guy let go of his arm, he balled that hand into a fist and punched the second one.</p><p>As quickly as he could, he spun himself around, punching one of the men again, as he hadn't fallen down like the other. Rude made sure to hit him hard, where it counted, to knock him out, then ran over toward Reno's crow bar lying on the ground, snatching it up, and heading over to the stack of crates.</p><p>"The other one's got a weapon!" The man holding Reno's arms shouted.</p><p>"Take care of him then." Vin growled, still working on wrestling down Reno's pants, reaching around toward the button in the front. "I got this one. Kill the other one if you have to. I don't fucking care. I just want this one."</p><p>"Drop the weapon... I don't wanna have to hurt you..." The guy previously holding down Reno's arms breathed, seemingly nervous as he stared Rude down.</p><p>"I don't wanna have to hurt you either, man." Rude glared. "But I will if you and your friend don't leave my friend alone. I already took out your buddies. Don't make me do this..." He warned.</p><p>The guy shook his head, balling his hands into fists. "Drop the weapon!" He yelled again.</p><p>Quickly, Rude glanced toward Reno, trying to get a good read on how his friend was faring in this situation. Once no one was holding onto his arms anymore, Reno was seemingly better able to move under Vin's weight. Somehow he managed to twist himself around so that he was facing the larger man, though still pressed down against the crate, with his back against it now.</p><p>That was just the opportunity Rude needed. "Reno!" He shouted, gaining his friend's attention. He tossed the crow bar over, and Reno caught it in one hand, immediately swinging it hard up against his attacker's face while Rude focused back on the other guy.</p><p>"No! No! I give up! Don't-" The man backed up.</p><p>Rude shook his head. It was too late for that. He swung his fist out hard, hitting the guy in the face with one hand, then punching him in the gut with the other.</p><p>Meanwhile Reno had successfully knocked Vin back, but didn't stop there. He continued swinging the crow bar out wildly until the guy was on the ground, completely still, not even trying to get back up. "Fucker!" Reno screamed, kicking the unconscious man in the ribs.</p><p>"Reno!" Rude gasped, rushing up to his friend as soon as the man Rude had been fighting was still and silent on the ground. "You got him. Stop..."</p><p>Reno growled again, kicking once more, then spitting on the man. "I oughtta kill him..." He breathed, his voice shaky and breathless as he paced a few steps to the side, then back, pulling his pants back up with one hand as he walked. "I should just fucking kill the bastard!"</p><p>"Reno, stop..." Rude breathed, grabbing Reno's upper arms gently but firmly and pulling him back. "It's okay... He's not getting back up any time soon. You got him. Let's just go home."</p><p>Shrugging away from Rude's grip, Reno moved toward the guy again, kneeling down and checking his pockets, taking all the gil back. "That's mine, you fuckin' prick." He growled, standing up and kicking the guy in the ribs once more. "Fuck you!" He yelled. "God damned fucking creep!"</p><p>"Hey... Reno, calm down. You're okay..." Rude stared.</p><p>"Check the other ones too." Reno demanded, walking over to the guy who had been holding down his arms a few minutes ago and stuffing his hands into each of the pockets on the man's clothes. "Might as well get some more money outta this bullshit." He grumbled, making a point to kick up some dirt onto the guy as he stood back up. "Fuckin' prick." He growled.</p><p>Rude reluctantly headed toward the two men he'd fought off first and checked each of their pockets, coming up with about thirty or forty gil between the two of them. "Alright, Reno. Got it. Let's go." He headed back toward the younger man, putting a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>Reno pulled his arm away, walking back toward the man who'd been called Vin and kicking him again. "Gross fuckin' pervert." He spat, his voice shaking. "Entitled fuckin' rapist, fat son of a bitch..." He kicked out again, breathing quick, trembling breaths. He seemed like he was on the verge of a panic attack, trying to mask his obvious fear and anxiety with anger and violence.</p><p>Rude could see that his younger friend was still caught up in the moment, on-edge, nervous, breathless. He clearly felt upset with what Vin had been trying to do - even if he didn't get far - he tried. Reno didn't seem to be satisfied with the amount of hurt he'd caused back. He wanted more. But there wasn't anything left to do beyond killing these men, who were already unconscious on the ground. Rude didn't feel right doing that, even if he did think they kind of deserved it. Killing unconscious people just seemed too harsh.</p><p>"I wanna kill him, Rude..." Reno whimpered, his voice trembling with anger and tears. "I hate him so damn much... I might actually wanna kill him..."</p><p>Rude shook his head. "You don't really want that. We don't have to kill anyone, Reno. You won this one, okay? Look at 'em. All four of them... We beat them up, took their money... We win."</p><p>Reno stared down at the guy for another moment, clearly conflicted, probably thinking the same thing Rude was thinking - that he wanted to hurt the guy more. That he wanted him dead... but that it just wouldn't feel right to do so.</p><p>"Reno, come on..." Rude said again, trying to be as gentle as possible both in tone and gesture as he reached toward his friend, grabbing Reno's arms and pulling him back. "You're alright. Just leave him. It's done. Let's get home..."</p><p>Finally, Reno seemed to silently agree, letting Rude drag him away from the scene.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 8</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Reno could barely even remember the rest of the trip back home. He remembered feeling somewhat frantic, like he needed to go fast. He remembered Rude telling him to slow down and asking him multiple times if he was sure he was okay... But that was about it. Somehow the memory of most of the walk home was just not in his head, even though he'd just done it.</p><p>Now they were home, at last. Reno was sitting on an old wooden bench they'd stolen from a restaurant in town, while Rude looked for a clean shirt for him to wear - as his was presently heavily stained with the blood he'd tried to clean from his nose with his sleeve earlier in the day.</p><p>"You can wear one of mine." Rude noted from the corner. "I don't think any of yours are clean."</p><p>Reno shook his head, staring at the wall, feeling tears stinging at his eyes. He felt so embarrassed by what had happened. He felt bad that he felt bad. He wasn't supposed to get scared, to feel frantic and terrified. He was supposed to be strong, aggressive, assertive... If someone managed to hurt him or steal from him or otherwise cheat him, he was supposed to be pissed off, angry... not scared.</p><p>"Here. Do you need help?" Rude asked, staring with worried eyes down at his friend.</p><p>Reno frowned and looked up to see Rude offering a shirt down toward him. "I got it..." He whispered. "Thanks..."</p><p>Reno shrugged out of his shirt and put on the other one, a t-shirt that was much too big for him. But it was clean, and it smelled kind of like Rude, which he found comforting.</p><p>"They hit you pretty hard." Rude noted, squatting down in front of Reno and staring into his eyes. "You were unconscious for a minute."</p><p>Reno looked back, blinking as Rude continued staring. "What are you doing?" He finally asked with a frown.</p><p>Rude smiled slightly. "Trying to determine if you have a concussion. Your eyes look normal, I think... but it's dark in here... I'll just have to watch you closely tonight."</p><p>"Did they not hit you too?" Reno frowned. He could have sworn Rude got hit too, but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure. He couldn't really remember how the whole attack had started. He just remembered waking up with that sick fuck Vin pushing him up against a chain link fence demanding that he give him a hand job.</p><p>"I guess they did..." Rude realized. "Hopefully we don't both have concussions."</p><p>Reno shrugged. "We've both gotten concussions before. We'll live." He forced a laugh.</p><p>Rude exhaled as he walked over to the mattress on the floor in the corner, which they used as a bed. He sat down on it, leaning his back against the wall and staring at Reno. He looked conflicted, worried. Reno could tell he had more to say, but as usual, he was keeping it to himself.</p><p>"We got quite a bit of money today though, huh?" Reno tried to change the subject. They really did do pretty well financially today. It wasn't the plan, to have to beat people to unconsciousness... but since they had to anyway, taking their money only made sense.</p><p>Rude nodded, frowning as Reno made his way over to the mattress and sat down next to him. "You sure you're okay?" Rude asked again, shrugging out of his jacket.</p><p>Reno nodded. "I am... Like I said, they didn't really hurt me. It was scary in the moment... If I was screamin' or something, it was because of that - not because I'm hurt." He looked down, sort of unsure what all had happened. Did he scream in fear during the attack? Did Rude have to hear that? Did he cry? He wasn't even sure. It all happened so fast and he was so fucking scared. "Sorry I got you mixed up in all that..." Reno added. "Hope they didn't hurt you..."</p><p>Rude shook his head as he draped his jacket over Reno's shoulders. "I'm not hurt. And it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."</p><p>"I guess." Reno shrugged.</p><p>"No, you don't guess." Rude frowned. "That man attacked you, twice, for no reason. You didn't do a damn thing to invite that. You didn't get me mixed up in it. They did. Don't apologize for that."</p><p>"Okay..." Reno breathed, wrapping his arms around himself. He still felt anxious. He wondered if they should have just killed all four of the men - or at least Vin. He didn't want to actually kill someone... but what if Vin found him again? He did it once... He found Reno after Reno had left. He purposefully sought him out. He couldn't let it go the first time... Why would he let it go now?</p><p>"I mean it, Reno." Rude continued. "The entire thing is their fault, and their fault alone. I'm glad to have been there to help fend them off. It wasn't a problem you created."</p><p>Reno nodded. "I'm glad you were there too." He whispered. The first time, he had been all alone, and it was terrifying. He hadn't been sure he was going to be able to get out of it... Even the second time he was having doubts, but Rude came through, took care of all the other ones for him... If the older man hadn't been there that time, Reno probably wouldn't have been able to escape.</p><p>He felt himself shrink down slightly as he stared ahead at the wall across the room. If Vin had brought his reinforcements the first time, when Reno was by himself... he probably wouldn't have gotten away. The man caught him off guard twice. Reno was supposed to be more observant of his surroundings. How did he manage to screw up two different times? Let the same damn guy get the upperhand on him twice in one day?</p><p>"I should pay attention better." Reno noted. "He kinda snuck up on me twice... I really wasn't expecting it either time. I screwed up. I gotta pay attention."</p><p>Rude shook his head. "It's not your fault, Reno. We can always stand to be more careful, to learn and improve from things like this, but let's not place blame on ourselves for what these men decided to do. They were the ones who chose to do something cruel."</p><p>"I know..." Reno nodded. "And I got away from him on my own when it was just me an' him. I can handle this shit if they don't jump me outta nowhere and gang up on me, right?" He laughed nervously, knowing he had barely managed to escape the first time. Vin was just a lot stronger than he was. Being quick did him no good if someone a lot bigger than he was managed to pin him down before he had a chance to take a swing at them.</p><p>Rude nodded. "It wasn't a fair fight either time, but you managed. We can always learn from these things and be more careful next time."</p><p>"Next time we enter a Colosseum fight." Reno smiled, ready to move on and forget about everything negative that happened today. "We have more than enough for the entry fee now, and I really do think we could win. We should at least do one of the lower level ones. We don't have to enter something huge... I realize they'd make it nearly impossible to win. We'll do smaller ones. They probably won't even rig those ones much."</p><p>Rude shook his head, moving his arm out so that Reno could lean against his side.</p><p>Snuggling down next to his friend, Reno looked up at him, narrowing his eyes. "If we practice a lot first will you go with me?" He wondered. It seemed like a wasted opportunity for them to not even try. The cash prizes were huge, and they were both really good fighters - especially together, and especially when they weren't caught off-guard and attacked from behind without warning. They could actually do this, and make a lot of money.</p><p>Exhaling and closing his eyes, Rude hesitated.</p><p>Reno waited, still staring. The pause was a good sign. It meant he was thinking about it.</p><p>"If we practice and train a lot first... We can try a low-level one... But-" Rude started. "...If things start going south, you have to accept defeat. We're not fighting to the death. We're not letting ourselves get seriously hurt. Okay?"</p><p>Reno nodded with a very genuine grin. He wondered if Rude was agreeing to this only because Reno had had such a fucking horrible day today and he wanted to do anything he could to make the younger man feel better... But it didn't matter. This could very likely end up being the thing that solved all their problems. If they fought at the Colosseum often, did well, impressed people and gained fans there, they could make a steady income.</p><p>"I mean it, Reno. We'll have to train. Make sure we're really up to it. We can practice against each other." Rude suggested.</p><p>"Sure." Reno agreed, laying his head against Rude's shoulder and smiling. "Thanks, Rude." He spoke softly.</p><p>He could feel Rude nod, but the other man didn't say anything.</p><p>"Thanks for always having my back, partner." Reno added. "I appreciate you, man."</p><p>Rude hugged his arm tighter around Reno's shoulders. "Any time, Reno. I appreciate you too."</p><p>Closing his eyes, Reno let out a small breath. Today hadn't gone that well beyond the acquisition of quite a bit of gil. Even though every fight he got in, he ultimately won, the situations he found himself in today weren't what he was used to, weren't at all what he was comfortable with. Reno didn't even mind getting into fights, having people pissed at him. Sometimes it was a rush. It was fun.</p><p>But Vin was so different. Reno hadn't stolen from him, hadn't lied to or otherwise fooled him. The guy wasn't pissed that Reno tricked him or cheated him. It was more than just someone angry with him, the law trying to stop him from stealing. The man just wanted to hurt him for no real reason. Even when he came back the second time, it wasn't just about the gil Reno had taken. It was about being told no, about Reno refusing to do what he wanted him to do. It was so much more personal, downright scary.</p><p>Blinking his eyes open, Reno looked up at Rude, whose eyes were now closed. His breathing was soft and even. He seemed to be asleep. Rude had been so comforting today, when Reno was upset, vulnerable, showing his fear to the man as he wouldn't to anyone else. Rude was there for him in a way no one else ever had been in his life. Rude was always there for him, to comfort, protect, and defend him, to teach him how to do better - how to fight better, how to be better.</p><p>For everything that was wrong in his life, he felt so fortunate to have Rude as his best friend, his partner, his brother. Somehow, sitting here with him, on the old mattress in the cold, dark abandoned shack they called home, he felt genuinely safe, content. As long as they had each other, they would make it in life, one way or another.</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>The End</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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